Read or Dare!
by shanejayell
Summary: With a surprise attack on the Library the history of ROD the TV is thrown off the rails. Self Insert, shoujoai, mixing both mangas and ROD the TV. *moved to crossovers with Black Lagoon, as I'm working that cast in more*
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I own none of the characters from Read or Die, Read or Dream or ROD the TV, I'm just borrowing them for a bit. This is also a self-insert fanfiction with shoujoai, so if you don't like either, I'd recommend skipping it.

Read or Dare! Five Years Ago...

"Ack.." Shane staggered through the headquarters of the British Library, the smoke choking the long brown haired man as he raised another wall of paper sheets, blocking out the rapidly spreading flames.

"Grab as many books as you can," Joker called as he limped along, his short blonde hair blackened with soot and the leg of his pants charred, "but don't slow down!"

"The doors are jammed," Wendy yelled at the entrance, the little blonde tugging on the handles weakly.

"Damn it," Shane muttered, trying to think faster. He had never used the paper like this before, he was just a normal librarian. He hadn't even known that he could do it, not until a falling beam gave him no choice.

THOOM! Suddenly the heavy doors were slammed open from the outside as two figures quickly leapt to help the others outside. One woman wore a black leather bodysuit and the other had on a long coat and glasses.

"Yomiko, good timing," Joker managed, then his eyes widened in surprise as he got a good look at the other woman, "Nancy...?"

"It's been awhile," the leather clad Nancy Mukahari nodded as she assisted a older gentleman clutching books to his chest.

"Time for reunions later," Shane yelled, feeling the rising flames on the other side of his paper wall, "let's get going, please!"

"Hai," Yomiko agreed as she moved over to Shane's side, giving him a sweet smile as she helped reinforce the paper barrier, the Library employees streaming by them. "Well done," she said to him softly.

"Thanks," Shane agreed. The flow of people slowed, then stopped as he looked back at Wendy, "Is that everyone?"

"There were fatalities in the original explosion," Joker spoke up grimly as he helped people outside, "including Mr. Gentleman."

"Oh, no," Yomiko murmured softly. Her eyes narrowed, clearly angry, "They'll pay for this, whoever they were.."

"Time to go," Nancy forcefully grabbed Yomiko and Shane, phasing them all as they broke and ran away from the burning building.

As they gathered outside Shane took in Yomiko more closely, and saw a red stain slowly spreading on her arm. "What happened?" he frowned.

"Someone tried to kill Sumiregawa Nenene," Nancy moved over to stand worriedly at Yomiko's side, "if we hadn't been there..."

"When, exactly did this happen?" Joker asked thoughtfully.

"About half an hour ago," Yomiko winced in pain as Nancy carefully pulled her long coat off to tend to the cut in Yomiko's upper arm.

"Almost the same time the fire started," Wendy murmured, while Joker looked up at the burning building, his expression unreadable.

"Joker," Yomiko worriedly asked, "where's Drake-san?".

It was a few hours later that they had some of the answers, gathering in a temporary meeting place in an expensive Tokyo hotel. Most of the people in the room were cleaned up, but all of them carried an edginess, as if they knew the worse was to come.

Drake Anderson restlessly paced the open area between the couches of the meeting room, waiting for word. His daughter had been clipped by an explosion, one that occurred almost exactly at the same time as the other incidents, and her condition was still critical. The muscular blonde scowled, "What's taking so long?"

Nancy spoke up from where she was braiding Yomiko's hair, "I'm sure that Joker is doing everything he can."

"Thought you were dead," Drake gave her a look.

"I got better," was Nancy's dry answer.

"Does anyone know why Joker asked me to be here?" Shane asked, his brown hair roughly tied back out of his face.

"I'm sure there's a good reason," Yomiko gave him a gentle smile.

Just then Wendy opened up the door, the younger woman giving Drake a tired smile as she reported, "The medical team Joker brought in have successfully pulled her out of danger, she'll be all right."

Drake visibly relaxed, "Thank you."

"Don't thank me," Joker limped inside, leaning on a clearly new wooden cane as he said grimly, "when I suspect that I may in part be at fault." There was a moment of stunned silence as he sat down and added, "These events were part of a organized attack on the British Library itself and specifically this Special Missions group."

"But why attack Nenene?" Yomiko blurted out.

Joker gave her a wry smile, "She's the person that you're closest to, at least from what they could tell. Much like Drake and his family."

"Who are they, exactly?" Shane leaned forward to ask. "You sound like you already know who they are."

"They're called Dokusensha," Joker admitted with a weary sigh, "we've even done business with them in the past."

"Obviously they've decided we're a problem," Wendy said tentatively.

"The attack on the library was intended to shut us down," Joker said grimly, "though thanks to Shane that failed, at least in part. I think that the personal attacks were to convince our best agents to stay out of this."

"When I get my hands on them!" Drake growled.

"No Mister Anderson, you won't," Joker said quietly.

"Why.." Drake blinked in surprise.

"There's your wife and daughter to consider," Joker reminded him, "I cannot in good conscience allow you to continue on when I can't guarantee their safety."

"Damn it," Drake growled, but he didn't argue.

"So it'll just be me and Nancy going after these Literary Mystics?" Yomiko asked worriedly.

"We won't be going after them immediately, in fact we'll be going underground for a while." Joker smiled grimly, "I want them to think we're dead and gone, ideally."

"I don't like the idea of Yomiko and Nancy operating alone," Drake muttered.

"They won't be operating on their own," Joker said, giving Shane a smile.

"Ah, me?" Shane blinked in surprise, "but I'm just a plain librarian, I can't..."

"You're also a Paper Master," Joker reminded him. He looked over at Drake, "Do you think you could train our Mr. Llewellyn?"

"Probably," Drake looked over at Shane thoughtfully, "from what Yomiko and the others tell me, he's got some potential."

Shane pushed his glasses up as he softly admitted, "You've got a point."

"This going underground," Yomiko said softly, "does that mean I can't see Nenene?"

"For her own safety," Nancy agreed grimly.

Yomiko reached up to adjust her glasses, her expression grave. "As long as it keeps her safe." she said softly.

"Then lets get started," Joker said gravely. "Drake, you get to take Shane under your wing, I want him weapons ready in a few weeks, ideally. Nancy, Yomiko, we've got information on additional copies of some of the books that were destroyed," he said, "I'll need you to go after them."

"Yes sir," Yomiko nodded eagerly.

The beginning...


	2. Briefing

Read or Dare Two

Wendy Earhart hurried up the hallway of the temporary headquarters of the British Library, the papers clutched in her arms as the young blonde raced to be on time. "Mr. Joker," she said as she opened the door, "I have the files you requested."

Joker looked up from his cluttered desk, the blonde haired man looking impeccably neat as always in his dapper suit. "Thank you Wendy," he said as he got up, shifting stacks of books aside as he added, "put them right here."

"Yes sir," Wendy smiled as she put the reports down with a soft thump.

Joker looked over at the pile with a wry look as he asked her, "You had a chance to look them over?"

"Skimmed them," Wendy conceded.

"Can you give me a summary?" Joker asked hopefully.

"I'll try," Wendy said, quickly looking around the small, book filled office. Finding a chair she took the books off the seat then dragged it over as she asked, "Do you have any preferences where I start?"

"Dokusensha," Joker said with a serious look on his face.

"Hmm," Wendy took a notebook from her back pocket and flipped several pages before she sat down. "With the death or Mr. Gentleman their sponsor Ms. China also died, we believe due to a previously unrevealed connection between them. However, even without her they are a formidable force, with operations throughout China and the far east."

"While we're based in Europe, the United Kingdom and to a lesser extent in Japan,' Joker calmly noted.

"Precisely," Wendy noted. "We believe Dokusensha were involved in the attack that killed Mr. Gentleman, possibly in revenge for our defeat of them in the Ijin case. They also have established a corps of superhuman agents like our own, including their own papermaster."

"The infamous Sonny Wong," Joker nodded thoughtfully, "also called the Recycler. A killer of the worst sort."

"Exactly," Wendy agreed. She checked her notes, "We believe they're continuing to observe Nenene Sumerigawa, so I'll continue to urge Yomiko and the others to stay out of contact with her."

"And our new paper master?" Joker asked thoughtfully.

"The Word is training up nicely, according to Drake," Wendy noted. "He's passably good with rifle and pistol, and he failed unarmed combat. However, he's a prodigy in paper defense, producing barriers superior to Yomiko's, even if his attack skills are less than stellar."

"We'll have to keep that in mind," Joker noted. He rubbed his fingers together thoughtfully, "And our allies?"

"The American Library has offered whatever support we require," Wendy kept the sarcasm out of her voice, "assuming we join with them as a lesser partner."

"Lovely," Joker made a face.

"The Russian Library has been somewhat more helpful," Wendy added, "mostly due to their own run ins with Dokusensha."

"Dokusensha did do them some damage over the Rasputin papers," Joker recalled.

"And they still owe us for recovering those papers," Wendy agreed. "I think we can use that leverage to get replacements for some of the tomes lost in the fire."

"And our agents are still scouring Jinbo-cho?" Joker mused.

"We're digging through the world's major book markets, but especially there," Wendy agreed. "So far, we've recovered twenty-eight percent of the lost books."

"A good effort," Joker acknowledged, not pointing out the large remainder they had to go. Besides, he was aware she already knew. "And the report on the cloning issue?"

Flipping through her notebook again Wendy found the section she was looking for. "A unanimous vote has banned further superhuman cloning efforts," she reported, "at least among Great Britain and the United Nations."

"Wonder how long it'll take Dokusensha to break that one?" Joker wondered.

Wendy hesitated before saying, "They already have, though apparently it hasn't worked out too well for them."

Joker brightened, "Oh?"

"They spliced paper master DNA into two women who they programmed as agents," Wendy revealed, "Maggie Mui and Michelle Chan. They proved effective so when a third paper master child had difficulties, they placed Anita King into the two women's care."

"What happened?"

"The two women developed such a strong bond with Anita that they destroyed a Dokusensha instillation getting her back," Wendy sounded smug, "apparently Dokusensha has decided to avoid antagonizing the trio at all costs. They're now operating as the Paper Sisters Defective Agency."

"Oh, good show," Joker clapped his hands cheerfully, then a oddly thoughtful look appeared on his face.

"We've been concerned about keeping Nenene Sumerigawa safe..." Joker trailed off thoughtfully. A smile teased at his lips, "Is Agent Linho still keeping an eye on Sumerigawa?"

"Yes sir," Wendy confirmed, faintly surprised by his memory of such a odd bit of trivia.

"Have someone check over these Paper Sisters and confirm their story is true," Joker said with a merry twinkle in his eye, "then suggest to Agent Linho that he should hire them to look after Ms. Sumerigawa."

"They aren't the most stable of people, according to the report," Wendy cautioned.

Joker smirked, "Neither is Yomiko."

"Sir," Wendy scolded, even though a smile tugged at her lips.

"Besides," Joker noted a bit sourly, "it might stop the young lady from filing missing persons notifications on Yomiko."

Wendy giggled, then promptly shut her mouth. "I'm sure it must be difficult killing all those reports," she said sympathetically.

"Yes it is," Joker gave her a faintly suspicious look, "maybe I'll pass the job on to you."

Wendy's eyes widened in horror, "Oh, no sir!"

"Heh," Joker smiled as he picked up the top report, "we'll see." As he began reading he asked, "Could you fetch us some tea?"

"Of course sir," Wendy smiled as she headed off.

To be continued...

Notes: this is a alternate universe to ROD, including the Dream manga version of the Paper Sister's battle with Dokusensha, as well as details from the Read or Die Novels about Mr. Gentleman's counterpart, Ms China.


	3. Field Work

Read or Dare! Field work

"I hate rain," Shane noted as he, Yomiko and Nancy huddled in the large tent and the rain poured down outside, the setting sun hidden behind dark clouds and mist, "in fact, I think I hate it almost as much as I do fire."

"Agreed," Nancy scowled, her purple black hair nearly matching the skin tight leather bodysuit that she wore. They had eaten a short time ago and were readying for bed, though in Yomiko's case that mostly involved reading a bit before laying down.

"Ah-choo!" Yomiko sneezed, then the brown haired young woman in the overcoat sniffled miserably, peering blearily at the book in her lap.

"Here," Nancy reached over to hand Yomiko a tissue, "you wouldn't want to drip anything on your book."

"Ank 'ou Nancy," a completely stuffed and congested Yomiko answered.

'Look on the bright side,' Shane thought as he say cross legged on his sleeping bag, 'at least I didn't catch a cold.' He paused, 'Yet.'

"Do we have any more cold medicine?" Nancy asked him.

"Hold on a minute," Shane put down the paperback he was reading and went through his nearby backpack. Several other paperbacks and bundles of paper fell out as he dug, but eventually he came up with a vial of pills, "Here we go."

"Thanks," Nancy took them then crawled over to where Yomiko sat miserably by the small lamp they were using.

Watching the normally tough, almost cold woman tending so gently to Yomiko seemed such a intimate thing that Shane turned away, focusing on his book instead. It had been a bit of a shock when, after a few months working with them, he realized that the two women were lovers but he thought he was coping pretty well.

"Lay down for a while," he heard Nancy urge, "we'll wake you when it's time."

"Thank 'uo," Yomiko murmured to Nancy drowsily then there was the sound of a soft kiss as she added, "Night."

"Night, love," Nancy whispered back. After a moment Nancy picked up the lamp, dimming it a bit before carrying it over to where Shane sat. Giving him a hard look she challenged, "Got something to say?"

Shane met her eyes mildly, his glasses gleaming, "Nothing at all, Miss Mukahari."

Nancy met his gaze then relaxed a bit, "Sorry."

"Had some problems?" Shane asked gently. He smiled slightly, "If it's none of my business, just tell me."

"It's none of your business," Nancy said crisply but with a bit of gentleness in her voice too. They sat there a moment then she asked, "And how are you coping? Becoming a agent must be a big change for you."

"After Drake Anderson got done with training me," Shane said to her dryly, "I think I was ready for anything." There was a short pause and he added wryly, "At the very least, death now holds no fear for me."

Nancy chuckled, "That bad?"

"I was a librarian," Shane reminded her wryly as he mused, "before now, my greatest physical exertion was hauling piles of books around. Drake had me running around in full army gear and a fifty pound backpack."

"Ouch," Nancy smiled slightly.

Shane half smiled, "You too?"

"When I first joined," Nancy agreed, "though it wasn't Drake who was my drill master." She looked thoughtful, "How'd you do?"

"I'm a poor shot," Shane conceded, "but he seemed pleased with my progress in using paper, so hopefully that'll make up for it."

"Sounds good," Nancy nodded, the woman clearly factoring in the information to her plans for tomorrow.

"So, we hit the castle tomorrow?" Shane asked. A wry smile, "And since when does anybody base themselves in a castle?"

"Dokusensha seems to have a flair for the dramatic," Nancy noted with some amusement, "and yes, we will."

"Huh," Shane murmured.

Over the past two days they had traveled from Japan to China, traveled across a variety of land through bad weather, all to reach this location. Here, amid this mountainous province, was one of the research facilities for Dokusensha and possibly the source of the fire based attack that had devestated the British Library.

"So, what's the plan?" Shane asked.

"Our mission brief is to get inside, get the information and get out," Nancy said calmly, "beyond that, we improvise."

"Comforting," Shane sighed.

"The maps we've got should help us get in," Nancy said calmly, "but the interior is probably completely different than listed. Once we're inside, we'll just have to improvise."

"I guess I'm more used to organized events," Shane conceded, uncomfortably fiddling with his paperback.

"You'll manage," Nancy flashed a smile.

Shane unwillingly yawned, then blushed, "Sorry."

"It's been a long day," Nancy smiled. She reached over to dim the lamp a bit more, "Let's hit the sack, we have to be up early in the morning."

"Right," Shane hesitated, "would you mind if I read a bit before...?"

"You'd lose track of time and not sleep," Nancy said firmly as she made her way to Yomiko's side, "lights out."

"Had some experience with that?" Shane said as he carefully marked his page.

"Oh yeah," Nancy nodded towards Yomiko as she carefully laid down. "Now," she said seriously, "bed."

"Yes ma'am," Shane greed as he lay down, turning out the light.

Nancy snuggled in beside Yomiko in their shared sleeping bag, "And no reading using your flashlight, either."

"Right," Shane chuckled, turning away from the two women to look at the tent wall. 'Tomorrow's the big day,' he silently mused, 'I get to finally find out if all my training has paid off. Am I ready?' He closed his eyes, 'Guess there's only one way to find out.'

To be continued...


	4. Confrontation

Two Years Ago...

Joker opened his office door, the slim blonde haired man moving inside smoothly even with the support of his wooden cane. His suit was crisp, the blue cloth perfectly spotless as he walked in, hesitating only a moment as his eyes pierced the shadows. "I know you're in here," Joker said to his visitor calmly.

Click! The old fashioned standing lamp by the desk came on, creating a pool of bright light in the near darkness of the office. The woman sat behind the large oak desk, looking up at him coldly. Papers were scattered on the top, some of them held down by the machine pistol that sat on them, all of them marked top secret.

"If you needed to see me," Joker said to the woman sitting at his desk mildly, "you could have just made an appointment."

"Shut up," Nancy Mukahari said coldly. The black haired young woman dressed in a simple leather body suit looked at him with fury in her eyes, "I know."

"I'm not sure what..." Joker started to say.

Nancy slammed her hand down like a clap of thunder, Joker shutting his mouth with a snap. "You did a good job of hiding it," she growled out, "but I put the pieces of information together eventually. The Library created me and all the other Ijin, were directly responsible for the deaths and destruction they caused."

"Not quite," Joker pulled his coat off casually, hanging it up on a coat rack as he continued, "we started the Ijin project, but our subjects got away from us."

"Why?" Nancy blurted out angrily.

Joker loosened his tie, studying her thoughtfully. "The Ijin were never meant to escape," he finally said, "nor to awaken. We wanted to create an exceptional being, one with the capacity to meet our urgent needs."

"To save Mr. Gentleman," Nancy realized.

"Indeed," Joker agreed, leaning against the side of his desk, "he was dying, his irreplaceable knowledge and wisdom were going to be lost to us. Early studies showed a normal human couldn't house his essence, but someone like the Ijin might."

"So what happened?" Nancy asked, her hand resting not far from her pistol, ready to pick it up and use it in seconds.

"The fire three years ago killed Mr. Gentleman before we could record his essence," Joker said softly, "all that work came to nothing." He paused, "And the Ijin were released, we think, by our foes in Dokusensha."

Nancy frowned, "But why would Dokusensha do that?"

Leaning on his cane Joker shrugged slightly as he answered, "In all honesty we don't know. It could simply have been meant as a distraction from one of their other plots, or something more complex and sinister."

Nancy digested that, her hand still firmly gripping her pistol. "I came here to kill you," she said to Joker quietly, "your actions lead to the deaths of dozens of people in New York, Library personnel and others."

"And what of your actions as an Ijin?" Joker asked calmly. He met her eyes gravely, "You committed assassinations, spied and killed as needed for your agenda."

Nancy nodded slightly, "I guess we're both monsters, then."

"Yomiko believes in the Library," Joker said thoughtfully, "in the good that it does." He ran a hand through his short blonde hair as he admitted, "And I find that I've come to believe in it too, with our battles against Dokusensha and working to restore all the books that were lost to us in the fire that destroyed our headquarters."

"Low blow," Nancy muttered, "bringing up Yomiko."

Joker just nodded, "Indeed."

"Yomiko would be devastated to find this out," Nancy murmured as she looked down at the papers on the desk, "it would hurt her so much."

Joker kept quiet, watching her thoughtfully. The woman dressed all in leather had changed in the years he had known her, grown. Once a blind servant of the Ijin she had become someone who could make her own moral choices. More importantly she had fallen in love and it was that one thing that had changed her the most.

"I won't tell her about this," Nancy finally said as she looked over at Joker intently to ask, "The project is over, right?"

"Your clone still exists," Joker answered her frankly, "and there is a hybrid child being raised by a foster family. Other than that, it's done."

"All right," Nancy nodded slightly, her expression thoughtful. She took a deep breath, "Here's what we're going to do."

"Yes?" Joker asked, his face showing polite attention.

"I'm not going to kill you," Nancy got up from her seat, leaving the incriminating documents there on the desk, "and we're both going to carry on as if none of this ever happened." She brought her pistol up swiftly, aiming it at his head as she continued grimly, "But if I ever find out you're pulling something like this again, I'll kill you myself."

"If I did do something like this again," Joker met her eyes as he said mildly, "I'd want you to kill me, too, Miss Deep."

"Fair enough," Nancy tucked the machine pistol away then strode through the wall, leaving only silence in her wake.

Joker went to his chair and sat down, giving a relieved sigh as he took the pressure off his injured leg. Sitting back he took a moment to collect his thoughts then he pressed the intercom and said, "Wendy, could you come in here?"

The blonde young woman strode in with a tentative smile as Wendy asked, "Did everything go as we planned, sir?"

"Yes it did," Joker gathered up all the Ijin documents then passed them over to her, "you can finally destroy them along with the other copies we scattered about."

"Couldn't we have just told her about the Library's involvement," Wendy stacked the papers neatly before tucking them under her arm, "and that we intended to make amends? Planting these documents for her to find was a lot of work."

"Nancy wouldn't have believed me," Joker shook his head wryly, "she had to find it out on her own." He smiled slightly, "And now that she does know we don't have to keep worrying about it blowing up in our faces later."

"That's good," Wendy flashed him a warm smile as she said, "I rather like Nancy and wouldn't want to have to try and kill her." She looked thoughtful and asked, "What about Junior and the younger Nancy?"

"Keep Junior in foster care," Joker said thoughtfully, "he seems happy there. As for the other Nancy we'll keep trying to retrain her."

"Having a second Miss Deep might come in very handy," Wendy agreed.

"Yes, she would," Joker agreed.

Wendy headed to the door as she cheerfully asked, "Would you like some tea, sir?"

"I'd love it," Joker agreed.

"Then I'll be right back..." Wendy started when her toe caught on the corner of a piece of rug.

"Look out," Joker called.

"Awk!" Wendy tripped, going down in a cloud of papers.

"Some things never change," Joker murmured to himself with a smile.

To be continued...

Author's Notes: This episode is in some ways a spoiler for ROD the TV series. I was trying to explain in the two preludes why the Library hadn't gone bad in the Tenno universe as well as to explain the back story a bit. One can assume that Shane, Yomiko and Nancy were back at base between missions when this happened.


	5. Agents Undercover

Agents Undercover

The Librarian arrives

The campus was crowded in the morning, students moving over to their first classes, while mixed among them a few of the teachers, running behind and rushing to make it to their classes. But all of that was as usual. There was a rustle, students looking in surprise as the man skillfully navigated his was through the crowds, nose firmly buried in a book. Longish brown hair was pulled back in a ponytail, his clothes semi formal in dress shirt and pants. A bit overweight he still looked reasonably fit as he smoothly navigated onward. A woman stepped in front of him, so he dodged left. She echoed the move, and he tried to dodge right, but in vain.

Reluctantly he looked up from his novel, glasses gleaming, and he smiled suddenly as he said, "Yomiko."

"Shane-san," Yomiko beamed up at him cheerfully, "it's good to see you."

"How's the substitute teaching job?" Shane smiled as they fell into step, the dark haired woman holding a book in her hands, too.

"Going well," Yomiko smiled, "how's the library?"

"It needs some work," he pushed his glasses up, then Shane smiled slightly, "but it's slowly improving."

He hesitated, deciding that the crowd's noise was sufficiently loud to quietly ask, "Have you heard from Joker yet?"

"No," Yomiko answered softly, "I guess that means we keep looking."

"Guess so," Shane agreed. He gave Yomiko a look, a slight smile tugging at his lips, "So how's Nancy been?"

Little circles of red appeared on Yomiko's face as she said with as much dignity as she could muster, "She's fine, thank you."

The bell rang, and both bolted as Shane yelled, "See you later, Yomiko!"

Walking along campus Shane smiled, thinking of the events leading them here to this remote island campus. Investigating a Dokusensha base in Europe he, Yomiko and Nancy had discovered records of rare books, possibly several priceless works, spirited away by Dokusensha agents to a secret location. However, the records were frustratingly incomplete, and a advanced team of agents had been unable to acquire the books.

Joker, after some research, decided a more long range plan might be wise. Working with his various contacts he arranged for the librarian job at the college to come vacant, as well as a teaching position. Shane and Yomiko, it seemed, would fill the jobs while also persuing rumors of the lost books, as well as fielding any requests for their special skills from the Royal Library.

'Well, here we go,' Shane thought as he reached the multi story university library. He smiled slightly as he pushed the doors open, walking over to his new desk and setting his carry bag down. He savored the scent of books, looking around a moment to take in his new domain. The computer banks gleamed as he checked them over, moving on to where the book shelves were. He reluctantly accepted the necessity of the computers but still, there was nothing like holding a book in your own two hands.

"Mr Llewellyn," the assistant at the check out desk smiled shyly, "I unlocked as ordered, and the other staff are shelving last nights returns."

"Thank you, Nodoka," Shane nodded, seeing the first year blush red.

Walking towards the rear of the library Shane heard a sound, a frown appearing on his face. He reached into his pocked, drawing out a piece of paper. Between his fingers it stiffened oddly, a razor edge forming as he moved forward.

The student sat at a private table, her head bent down over a book, a fierce frown on her face. Obviously she wasn't finding what she was looking for. "Damn it," she scowled, slamming the book she was reading roughly closed.

Feeling a bit sheepish Shane slid the paper away before clearing his throat and asking, "Good morning, is there anything I can help you find?"

The girl frowned, waving around a slip with a Dewey decimal code on it, "The programming books are completely messed up."

"May I?" Shane took the sheet thoughtfully, "Let's take a look, Miss Miles."

"How did you know my name?" Kelly Miles looked at him in surprise as they walked to the appropriate section.

Shane knelt down beside the rows of books as he said absentmindedly, "I looked up the users who took the most books out and compared that to yearbook photos." He slid some books forward, reaching behind to search the gap between the front and back shelves, "Ah hah!"

Kelly blinked as he put the slightly dusty book in her hands. She looked up at him with an curious expression, "You're not the most normal librarian, are you?"

"Suppose not," Shane shrugged, giving her a wave as he left her to her work.

Yomiko's First Day

Yomiko bolted, her long coat flapping around her as she heard Shane call out, "See you later, Yomiko!"

Happily the brown haired teacher bounded through the campus and into the hallways of the English department, dragging her usual cart of books behind her. The second bell rang, and Yomiko blurted, "I'm going to be late!"

With a surprising burst of speed from such a avowed bibliophile she barreled down the hall, startling several latecomers and making a leather jacket clad woman swear at her softly. "Watch it," she snarled.

"Sorry!" Yomiko's voice came from farther down the hall.

Revy looked after her, a clearly irritable look on her face. "First time I've seen a teacher be that late," she muttered, wishing she had a smoke right about then. The reddish brown haired woman frowned, looking towards where the woman had bolted off to as she quietly she asked herself, "Now where have I seen her before?"

Meanwhile, in one of the English classes the natives were getting restless. Koyomi Kishro sighed, her head resting on her desk as the copper haired woman complained, "I could be working on something right now, not sitting here waiting." The members of the class seemed oddly unconcerned that she was a cyborg, her arm gleaming metallic on the table.

"Yeah, well," Dan Wisner shrugged sympathetically as he said, "English is one of the required courses to graduate, so we're stuck with it."

Suddenly the door to the classroom slammed open and a woman leapt inside, "Hello, everyone, sorry I'm.." Wham! She tripped over her long coat and crashed face first to the floor.

"I'd give that entrance an eight point five out of ten," Koyomi said dryly, actually looking mildly interested.

Dan got up out of his desk as he worriedly peered at her, "Do you think she's all right?"

With her cheerful grin still intact the woman got to her feet, straightening out her crooked classes. She beamed at them, "My name is Yomiko, Yomiko Readman, and I'm your new English teacher."

"I'm just glad she isn't the coach," someone muttered.

"Your first assignment," Yomiko continued on with a bounce to her step, "is to write a book report on your favorite novel. Ten pages, and it will be due in a week."

With that Yomiko took a seat behind her desk, produced a paperback novel from her shirt pocket, and began to read. There was a long moment of silence as the students sat there and gazed at the intently reading teacher, wondering if there were more instructions coming.

"Guess we start now," Dan said as he got a paperback out of his bag and began reading.

"You know," Koyomi dug around her bag for a book, "I think this is going to be an interesting class after all."

The woman paused in the hallway, looking inside at the intently reading woman, then she continued on. "I really need a smoke," Revy muttered. She had remembered where, exactly, she had seen Yomiko's face before, and it meant her job here as a covert operative might have just gotten harder.

The photo had been part of a briefing file on a semi-covert operations group originally based out of Britain. The Great British Library Special Missions group, silly name, but it's agents had a reputation for being eccentric but effective. And Yomiko Readman was an agent for them, with the unlikely codename of The Paper.

'So what the hell do they want here?' Revy thought to herself grimly.

To be continued...


	6. Flashback: Foundations

Flashback: Foundations (Ten years ago)

"Are you fuckin' kidding me?" Revy sat up from where she was lounging in her chair, the reddish brown haired woman looking surprised. She wore a simple muscle shirt and cut off jeans, looking lithe and deadly with the pistols holstered under each arm.

"I'm leaving Roanapur and Thailand," Balalaika nodded, the tall, blonde haired woman standing there dressed in her usual woman's suit, the ever present Soviet officer's jacket slung over her shoulders. She flashed them a smile and added, "And I'd like to invite the Lagoon company to come along."

Dutch looked at her thoughtfully from where he was sitting, the tall black man smiling slightly as he said, "I'm listening."

"As you may have known, in addition to Hotel Moscow my allies and I have fun a quite profitable mercenary service," Balalaika revealed, "and recently a most interesting opportunity dropped into our laps."

Sensing his cue Benny smiled and asked, "Oh?"

Giving him a slight nod Balalaika continued, "On the island chain of the Northern Mariana Islands there has been a great deal of strife recently, in which several factions fought over governance of the three islands. Hotel Moscow, through various intermediaries, was brought in to resolve the situation."

"And you won," Rock noted, the black haired Japanese man watching with interest.

"Of course," Boris said calmly, the big man leaning up against the wall. Working as Balalaika's lieutenant he was a incredibly dangerous individual, as well as smarter than most people might have assumed.

Balalaika looked faintly amused, "However, once we won a certain complication appeared." Pacing back and forth a bit she continued, "It seems the rather foolish governor of the islands didn't have enough money in his treasury to pay us."

Revy snorted with amusement. "Bet he regretted pulling that pretty fast," she took a long drag on her smoke, "what did you do to him?"

Dutch sat forward, a thoughtful look on his face. "Didn't he resign?" he mused, "I think I heard something about it on the news."

"Very good, Dutch," Balalaika nodded, "he did. And I am going to be replacing him."

You could have heard a pin drop. Then suddenly Revy sat up, "Are you making a fuckin' joke! You, running a podunk little island?"

Balalaika looked amused, "Oh, it's much more than a little island. It's situated to be available to the United States and the pacific rim, it has airports and a stable population... with the right management it could be bigger than Roanapur."

"So why us?" Dutch asked calmly.

Balalaika's coat swirled around her as she walked over to her desk. "I need people around me I can trust, and not just from Hotel Moscow. It may be a great opportunity but running the island won't be easy. The US has interests that will NOT be happy I'm taking over, and there are other nations that may be looking to muscle in."

"You bringing a army?" Benny asked, pushing up his glasses.

"I won't need a army with people like Revy along," Balalaika nodded towards her, "as well as a few other choice allies taken from the city. But I won't lie, it could get very dangerous for a while."

"Danger isn't really a problem for us," Revy noted. She looked over at her boss, "Dutch?"

Dutch studied Balalaika a moment, his expression thoughtful. "You've never steered us too wrong," he conceded.

Balalaika smiled, "Gee thanks."

"But this is bigger than the usual jobs," Dutch mused after a moment. "I'm in, but I can't speak for everyone."

Benny looked thoughtful as he asked, "Am I going to get better electronics gear than I've got on the Lagoon?"

"If what I've got in mind happens, yes," Balalaika agreed.

"I'm in," Benny nodded. He looked at the man beside him, "Rock?"

Rock straightened his tie as he murmured, "This is going to be a quite a challenge, I think. I'd like to see what happens."

Dutch looked over at the only one who hadn't said yes or no, "Revy?"

Revy looked at them, then over at Balalaika silently. "Can I talk to you in private, sis?" she finally asked.

"Ma'am?" Boris gave Balalaika a look.

"Go on," Balalaika nodded, "we should be done in a moment." After Boris and the others filed out she turned to Revy, "Well?"

"What the hell is really going on?" Revy asked, looking at her through narrowed eyes.

Balalaika looked amused. "I thought I had explained things adequetely," she noted.

"Bullshit," Revy answered, getting up from her chair and stalking towards Balalaika. "You're too good to have gone to work for them not knowing they couldn't pay... you knew. You wanted the islands, but why?"

A faint smile teased Balalaika's lips, "Very good, not even Dutch asked me that."

"He's probably thinking about it," Revy calmly noted. "Well, you goin' to tell me what's going on, Sis?"

Balalaika turned to look out the window, gazing at the city of Roanapur with a jaded eye. "Have you heard of the story of Alexander the Great?" she asked.

"Wasn't he gay?" Revy blinked.

Balalaika rolled her eyes, "Other than that."

"He conquored the known world," Revy strained to recall, "then dropped dead."

"Because he ran out of things to do," Balalaika agreed as she turned back towards Revy. "At this point, I own all or almost all the illegal activity in Roanapur, Hotel Moscow is thriving and I'm quickly running out of challenges to face."

"So, you're taking over an island to stop yourself from being bored?" Revy asked. "That's fucked up."

"I know," Balalaika agreed.

A sudden smile teased Revy's lips, "But that's a fucked up I can understand."

"So, you're coming?" Balalaika met her eyes with a surprising amount of earnestness.

"Why do you care?" Revy wondered, "I'm just a gun slinger." She flashed a cocky smile, "A GOOD one, maybe, but still..."

Balalaika reached out to gently push a bit of Revy's hair back from her face. "Yes, but you have the potential to be more, too," she said simply.

Revy shied away from her touch, lighting a cigarette. Taking a deep drag she took the cigarette out to look at the glowing red end, "All right, I'll give it a try. I get bored, I'm gone."

"Fair enough," Balalaika agreed. She took the girl's arm as she asked, "Shall we give the others the good news?"

"What the hell," Revy agreed as they headed out to talk to the rest of the crew.

To be continued...


	7. School Life

**Mad Science 101**

"Robots?" Shane echoed her statement thoughtfully as they walked together through the busy library, the brown haired librarian walking towards the reference stacks determinedly.

The librarian looked over at the young woman oddly, though that wasn't an unusual occurence, but in this case it was more due to her question than her strange appearance. Oddly, she found that kind of refreshing. "Robots," Koyomi agreed, her short coppery hair falling around her face.

Shane frowned in consideration, "Unless we narrow it down a bit, you're going to be hauling a mountain of books away." He looked at her thoughtfully and asked, "Humanoid robots?"

"Sounds good," Koyomi said agreeably, her t-shirt revealing the metallic arm she had, a mass produced 'armitage' model.

"Fiction or non-fiction?" he asked as he lead her deeper into the shelves past other students and volunteer staff, looking almost like a hound chasing after his prey.

"Bit of both," Koyomi shrugged as she coolly explained, "I'm looking for some inspiration."

"Inspiration?" Shane smiled suddenly as he realized, "You're trying to build one!"

"You got it," Koyomi nodded.

"Then you'll need some Asimov," Shane retraced his steps to the fiction aisles and began to pull several books down as he asked, "you've read his three laws or robotics?"

"Hey, I'm building the hardware along with Chao and Hikase, not doing the programing," Koyomi protested mildly.

Shane looked over the top of his glasses at her as he pointed out, "Programing is dictated by the design and manufacture, you know. You've got to keep that sort of thing in mind."

"And how do you know that?" Koyomi gave him a look.

"I read it in a book somewhere," Shane shrugged with a slight smile.

Koyomi scowled as she muttered, "Guess I should have known a librarian would say that."

"We should also get you the information on Japan's Asimo series of robots," Shane moved back to the nonfiction shelves, "and you should really read through the Jane's guides."

"Jane's Guides?" Koyomi followed him with a frown as she asked, "Aren't those on military vehicles and equipment?"

"There's been some remarkable advances in military power suit technology in the past few years," Shane explained as he pulled the guide down eagerly, "none of the 'Black Project' stuff will be in there, but some of the tech is gradually being revealed for public consumption."

Loaded down with a pile of books to begin her research Koyomi gave him a thoughtful look. "How do you know about that stuff?" she asked. "It doesn't seem the sort of thing a usual librarian would know."

Shane shrugged, pushing his glasses back up as he said, "I used to get around a bit."

"Shane, I was looking for..." Kelly trailed off as she saw her partner in crime standing there. "Hey, Koyomi."

"Miles," Koyomi nodded to her slightly, "you know this guy?"

"I wouldn't go that far," Kelly smiled slightly.

Shane made a face, "I'm hurt." He smiled slightly, "Is there something I can help you with?"

"Another mess in the programing section," Kelly shrugged.

Shane nodded, "Right." He turned back to Koyomi, "When you actually finish the robot.."

"Yes?" Koyomi asked.

Shane grinned. "I'd like to see it." With that, he moved off to help Kelly, leaving Koyomi looking at him thoughtfully.

**The writer assignment**

The students waited there patiently, as always. A few minutes after the class was officially supposed to have begun Yomiko Readman wandered inside, her face buried in a book as usual, dragging her suitcase cart behind her. She bumped into her desk, looked up, and noticed that she was in class.

"Good morning," Yomiko beamed at them, carefully putting her book away. Walking over to the board she wrote in bold script, Creative Writing.

"Uh oh," Dan murmured softly.

"I'll be honest," Yomiko smiled cheerfully, "I can't write myself. But, as you all know by now, I certainly enjoy reading."

Soft chuckles from the crowd at that. The woman was obsessed with reading, clearly, and the variety of what she read was astonishing. Watching her in class they saw detective novels, romance, science fiction, horror and many more categories ended up on her desk at one time or another.

"One of my favorite authors, Sumiregawa Nenene," Yomiko hesitated as she spoke her name, the teacher's face becoming oddly sorrowful, "spoke of a passion for writing." A bit more cheerfully, "I don't know if any of you have that passion, but I look forward to finding out."

"Wonder if she knew this Nenene?" Koyomi said softly to Dan.

"Good question," he softly answered.

"The assignment," Yomiko smiled, "is two pages of writing for the next class. It can be a piece of fiction, an essay, poetry, or even free verse, it's all your choice. I just want to get a feel for your writing style."

Dan raised a hand, "If we're not sure what to write, are there certain topics you'd prefer?"

"Did you have a novel or television program that ended in a way you didn't like?" Yomiko asked with a happy smile. "Write the ending you would have wanted to see."

Another student looked surprised, "Isn't that fanfiction? I thought teachers disapproved of it."

Yomiko beamed at them, "I won't tell if you won't" There was a bit of laughter from the class as the students set down to work.

Most of the students were just taking Yomiko's class to fulfill an English requirement at the academy, but it was surprisingly enjoyable. The teacher herself was pretty entertaining, and the course work she assigned was surprisingly interesting. Now as Dan and Koyomi walked away from the class, they fell into discussion of their teacher.

"So what do you think?" Koyomi asked him curiously.

Dan blinked, "About what?"

Koyomi said impatiently, "Did Yomiko know this Nenene?"

"Probably," Dan frowned thoughtfully, "but I wonder if they're friends now? She didn't sound as perky as she usually does when she mentioned her."

"Well," Siobhan said thoughtfully, "let's look into this lady."

Detouring from their trip back to the dorms Siobhan led them over to the school's library. Entering through the simple security gate they went on in, noting a man sitting at the check out desk reading a book.

"Met the librarian yet?" Koyomi asked Dan curiously as they walked up to his desk..

Dan blinked, "No, not yet. Is he the one who helped you with that robotics research?"

"Yep, that's him," Koyomi walked over and cleared her throat, causing him to look up in surprise.

"Ah, Koyomi," Shane smiled, pushing up his glasses, "how's the robot coming along?"

"Progressing nicely," Koyomi smiled. "I'd like you to meet my friend Dan, " she nodded towards Dan.

"Ah, yes." Shane smiled wryly to Dan, "nice to meet you."

"You too," Dan nodded..

Koyomi smiled as she said, . "We're looking for information on an certain author."

"No problem," Shane got up out of his seat, leading them over to the database computers as he asked, "Which one?"

"Sumiregawa Nenene," Dan offered.

Shane nearly stumbled and fell on hearing that name, but recovered fairly quickly. "Sorry, sorry," he straightened out his glasses nervously.

"Recognize the name?" Koyomi asked him dryly.

"Something like that," Shane said, calling up a file on the computer about Sumiregawa Nenene, "here's her catalog information and..." The man hesitated a moment. "She also has a personal webpage, there's a link attached." With that, he excused himself to attend to another student.

"That was odd," Dan blinked.

"Got that right," Koyomi agreed as she ran through the page, frowning at how little

personal information the catalog actually gave. The link to Nenene's webpage popped up easily, showing a well designed layout and a bit more personal information.

"What's that?" Dan noticed a link on the upper corner of the page.

'Have you seen me?' was the tag line. Koyomi clicked on it, and a moment later an image appeared on the screen. Both Dan and Koyomi gaped at it in surprise, until Koyomi recovered enough to say, "Yeah, I think Yomiko knows Nenene."

The picture was of a younger Yomiko Readman, holding a book in her hands and beaming happily, little circles of red on her cheeks. Books lined the background of the scene, clearly the woman was standing in a bookstore or an library. Just below the large picture was a response form, waiting to be filled out.

"So what do we do now?" Dan mused.

To be continued...


	8. Interview

Interview

Shane checked his black tie nervously as he took a deep breath, his brown hair falling into his eyes and dressed in a simple business suit. 'I wonder if I've done something wrong?' he thought, waiting in the outer office of the island's governor.

The government building was a ornate structure, a carry over from when the island was a property of the United States, and the outside was weighed down with roman-style architectural flourishes. The inside, however, was more practical with modern hallways and meeting rooms, along with tasteful paintings and other decorations.

"The governor will see you now," Boris rumbled, the tall soldier looming over Shane. If Shane had to pick a stereotypical image of a Russian soldier, Boris would be it from his rough, square jawed face to his slight but still clear accent. Still, there was something in his eyes that made Shane very aware that he was not a man to underestimate.

"Thank you," Shane answered respectfully as he got up, the borrowed overcoat flapping around him. It was a gift from Yomiko Readman, one of the few times she hadn't just given books, and it had a few more unusual additions.

The office was surprisingly plain, with only a few items scattered about along with a good quality desk, a leather chair and a small table to the side with a bottle of undetermined alcohol. Balalaika looked up from her paperwork with a cool smile on her face, her beauty strangely accented by the burn scar on the right side of her face.

"Mr Llewellyn," Balalaika smiled as he entered, "I'm sorry I haven't had a chance to see you sooner." The blonde haired woman offered her hand and he took it, her grip firm but sure.

"Thank you, ma'am," Shane smiled back, "but I'm sure you have better things to do than interview a humble librarian."

"Actually, I make it a point to interview all new academy staff," Balalaika informed him, "considering how important the school is to the island's future." She sat back, "Do you know why we have such a broad variety of students and teachers?"

"Location, I suspect," Shane admitted, "we're close enough to the United States to draw students from there, while also accessible to students from around the world."

"Exactly," Balalaika nodded firmly, "and our goal is to provide a education that rivals anywhere in the world." She studied the man opposite from her a moment, "So, what would you suggest we do?"

Without really thinking about it Shane replied promptly, "Expand the library, probably."

Balalaika looked amused, "Why am I not surprised?"

Shane smiled back, "I suppose you heard the same sort of request from the sciences and other specialties, too." He looked a bit more serious as he continued, "But I really do believe we need to expand the library facilities. The kind of bottlenecks we get over high demand research items bog down other departments, too."

"A point," Balalaika conceded, "but how would you decide to handle it?"

"As you can probably guess I'd like a larger library," Shane admitted, "but I'd also like to modernize as well." He gestured excitedly, "We need improved online access to information sources for students, access terminals within the library itself and around campus and, if we can afford it, a free wireless network."

Balalaika gave him a thoughtful look, her eyes narrowed just slightly. "That actually follows my own thinking on the matter," she said finally, "but I'm glad to get your input." She rose as she said, "Thank you for coming to see me."

Shane rose, recognizing a cue to leave when he heard one. "It was my pleasure," he nodded respectfully, "I hope I was some help."

As he left Shane nearly bumped into a black haired man, dressed in what resembled business wear. "Sorry," he smiled politely, as he slipped by Shane.

"No problem," Shane nodded as he headed through the outer office and puffed out a soft sigh of relief,

Meanwhile, back in the office Balalaika looked up with a smile, "You're as prompt as always, Rock."

Rokuro Okajima, often known as Rock, smiled slightly as he said, "We at the Lagoon company aim to please."

Balalaika chuckled softly as she purred, "Yes, you do." Looking somewhat more serious she asked, "Did Benny finish the deep background check on our dear librarian?"

"Yes," Rock nodded as he informed her, "he forwarded it to your email account. Do you want a summary?"

"Please do," Balalaika nodded.

Rock sat down as he collected his thoughts. "On the surface Mr. Llewellyn's back story checks out fine, but Benny's a bit suspicious that he's too clean," he revealed. As Balalaika raised a eyebrow he elaborated, "Benny mentioned that something so pure white is more suspicious than a bad record."

Balalaika could certainly agree with that, knowing her own cover identity was so squeaky clean it sparkled. "Well, I appreciate his efforts," she said after a moment, "and we'll just have to keep an eye on him."

"Should we bring in campus security?" Rock asked respectfully.

"No," Balalaika shook her head firmly as she explained, "Dutch and Revy already know I'm concerned about why I was pressured to bring him aboard. They'll be keeping a close watch on him anyway."

"Fair enough," Rock nodded. He smiled wryly, "If you don't mind, I need to get to work if I'm going to put a dent in the paperwork today..."

"Have I thanked you lately for becoming my administrator?" Balalaika chuckled as she walked him to the door, "I don't know how I managed without you."

"Every other day," Rock chuckled, "but I appreciate it none the less."

Balalaika watched him go, once again shaking her head in amusement at the changes in her life. If someone had told her ten years ago that she'd become the governor of a island chain and head of a massive university, she would have laughed aloud, yet here she was. She headed back to her desk and sat down, opening up one of several files on her desk.

Mr. Chang's report on Roanapur and Thailand was as entertaining as ever, with much amusing commentary from her old friend. The usual ongoing multi-sided gang war was continuing, with the Triads, Russian mob, the Italians and others fighting it out. Surprisingly the Washimine group was gaining ground, with Yukio proving to be a capable tactician.

'I wonder if I should have spared her life back then?' Balalaika wondered with a wry smile. Of course, while she had known the former school girl had potential, she would never have expected her to become such a capable leader.

A soft knock on the door made Balalaika raise her head. "Come," she called.

Boris opened the door, the tall man nodding respectfully. "Initial reports are in on the activities of the CIA in Roanapur," he said, "it appears that Eda is still their man in the field."

"As expected," Balalaika nodded, "is she still using the Rip-off church as a cover?"

"Actually, no," Boris said as he checked his notes, "she bought Bao out when he decided to sell the Yellow Flag and is currently running it."

"The Yellow Flag?" Balalaika sat up in surprise. The Flag was a bar in Roanapur that served as the main neutral meeting place of the city, as well as a den to cutthroats, murderers and general villainy. On one hand running the place was costly with all the fights and mayhem that broke out, but on the other it would be a invaluable source of info.

"Yes, ma'am. Will we be continuing our arrangement with her?" Boris asked.

"I don't see why not," Balalaika said after a moment's thought. "Once Eda is bought she stays bought. It's a admirable trait."

"Understood, Captain," Boris agreed.

Balalaika sighed as she looked at the paperwork on her desk. "Well, I'd best get back to it," she said, "but keep me informed if anything else pops up."

"Good luck, Captain," Boris smiled at her sympathetically as he turned to go.

To be continued...


	9. Home Life

Home Life

Yomiko Readman hummed to herself as the black haired woman walked to the housing complex on the edge of the school's property, dragging her usual suitcase of books behind her A high rise apartment building it housed much of the teachers, professors and other staff for the island, with room left over for stores and restaurants on the lower level.

'No bookstore, tho,' Yomiko noted sadly as she walked to the elevator, her nose burried in the latest novel imported from Japan. While not of the same level as one by Nenene Sumerigawa it was good, holding her interest as she walked home.

The elevator pinged softly as Yomiko walked in, instinctively dodging people as she did so. "Tenth floor?" a familiar voice asked.

Looking up reluctantly from her book Yomiko blinked owlishly a moment before the face registered. "Revy-san," she smiled politely at the security woman in the building. Yomiko didn't know much about Revy, other than her black hair and intense gaze, coupled with a terse but not unkind manner.

"Miss Readman," Revy smiled wryly as she leaned against the wall of the elevator. "I watched you walking, I thought you were going to run into someone reading that book," she noted conversationally.

Yomiko shrugged slightly, "It's fine, really. I have lots of practice."

Revy nodded slightly as they reached Yomiko's floor. "I suppose I'll have to take your word for it," she conceded as she watched Yomiko leave, reading her book once more as she strode down the hall.

Unerringly Yomiko navigated her way home, even unlocking the door without looking away from the printed page. "I'm home," she called out as she went inside.

"Welcome back," Nancy Mukahari smiled, the dark purple haired woman looking up with a smile from a diningroom table covered by papers.

Yomiko put her book down, marking the page gently before hugging Nancy, kissing her on the cheek. "I've missed you," she smiled.

"Obviously not enough," Nancy leaned forward and kissed her on the lips, a long lingering kiss as she pressed their bodies together firmly.

"Nancy..." Yomiko blushed furiously, her breath coming just a little faster.

Nancy just smirked as she pulled back a bit and asked, "How was your day?"

Still a little flustered Yomiko sighed, "Not bad. After Shane's meeting a few days ago, it looks like the English department in general will be getting more funding."

"Which is good," Nancy nodded as she stacked up the papers.

"What is that?" Yomiko had to ask, "Information on hidden books or libraries?"

Nancy snorted in amusement, "Nothing so grand, love. I don't want to be living off your pay forever, so I'm applying for a investigator's licence."

"A private eye?" Yomiko smiled, "Like Phillip Marlowe! Or Sherlock Holmes!"

Nancy chuckled softly, having already known Yomiko would draw those kind of comparisons. "Thanks," she said, "but I'm not planning to aim quite that high."

"How hard is it to apply?" Yomiko asked, her eyes widening at the pile of sheets.

"Not as bad as it looks," Nancy said as she hauled the papers over, "but it's all that in triplicate stuff that gets you." She looked over at Yomiko, "Is Shane bringing dinner, or do we have to cook tonight?"

"Shane's getting takeout," Yomiko said with some relief. She paused thoughtfully, "Is it pretty bad that the guy is the only one who can cook?"

"Yes, it is," Nancy laughed.

It wasn't that Yomiko couldn't read a cookbook and follow the instructions, there was another problem. She was such a avid reader that while checking details in the cookbook she would find herself reading along contentedly, getting several chapters in while dinner burned. Nancy, on the other hand, had only mastered relatively basic cooking on her own, and wasn't quite confident in her skills to feed a group.

Not long afterward there was a brisk knock then Shane came in, carrying a fair sized bag of local takeout food. "Everybody decent?" he called carefully, still remembering the time he had walked in on them while they were occupied with each other.

"I'm never decent," Nancy called from where she and Yomiko were sitting in the living room, "but we're fine."

Shane chuckled, his brown hair a bit messier than usual as he headed to the kitchen and unloaded the bags. "I really don't think you're as nasty as you claim," he noted mildly as he set up to reheat dinner.

"She's nasty enough for me," Yomiko winked, making Nancy laugh.

"I saw Revy hanging around," Shane frowned, "is she still keeping a eye on us?"

"We kind of had to expect it," Nancy said with a sigh, reluctantly letting go of Yomiko so they could both stand up.

Getting Shane and Yomiko onto the island and working at the academy had required the calling in of old debts and much string pulling, enough that the head of the island knew about it. She might not be able to trace back the influence but she knew there was a reason someone wanted the two on the island and she was determined to find out what.

"We'll just have to keep our heads down," Yomiko said optimistically, "it's not like we're here doing anything wrong."

"Maybe," Shane said as he opened up the oven and began pulling out hot food, "but the book we're looking for might be something they want too."

"True enough," Nancy conceded the point.

Plates were gotten out and they shared the hot food, sitting down at the diningroom table, Yomiko and Nancy side by side, Shane on the other. He had to fight back a smile as the loving couple shared food of their plates and fed each other.

"You two are almost too cute for your own good," Shane noted the fact mildly as he finished off his own dinner.

Yomiko blushed but Nancy just smiled, winking. "How is the library search going?" Yomiko asked, trying to change the subject.

"It's not in the catalog, but we expected that," Shane said as he took a drink of soda, "now I'm manually going through the shelves to make sure it's not hidden under another cover or a false title."

"Time consuming," Nancy noted.

"Very," Shane agreed, "but if we don't do it and the book turns up we'd look pretty bad."

Yomiko looked thoughtful, "We need to find some old maps of the region and look for any signs of the old library. Or even libraries."

"So far I'm just hearing rumors," Nancy cautioned them, "but it sounds like at least one facility was buried at one point "

"Oh lovely," Shane muttered thoughtfully.

:"That's not the worst rumor," Nancy offered with a evil smile, "the other one I heard was about a island library that was flooded."

"That would be worse," Yomiko winced in sympathy, imagining wading through a flooded building filled with ruined books

"Well, hopefully that last one is just a rumor," Shane sighed as he finished his drink. He got up and stretched before checking the time. "I think I'll go do some reading then go to bed. Catch you in the morning."

"Goodnight," Yomiko and Nancy called, their attention already focused on each other.

To be continued....


	10. Messages and the Paper Sisters

Messages and the Paper Sisters

In the far off country of Japan, the sun was rising over the city of Tokyo. Not too far from the shore a larger house was lit up by the morning sun, pigeons flapping about as they began their day. Inside Sumiregawa Nenene lay curled up on the couch, not far from her personal computer. Her work room on the second floor was a disaster area, but it was an orderly disaster, with stacks of books, papers, and reference materials all around. The blanket shifted, a messy head looking up blearily.

The brown haired young woman got up and stretched, scratching at her armpit. Nenene stumbled out of the room, the square rimmed glasses that she usually wore catching the light. Down the stairs she went, moving through the messy living room and in to the bathroom.

Inside the bathroom three young women stood in front of the sink, brushing away at

their teeth almost exactly in synch. The tall, black haired woman towered over them all, the green haired girl was Nenene's height, and the redhead was a little girl.

"Good morning, Sensei," the tall black haired girl said to Nenene bashfully once the three finished their brushing, gargling and spitting into the sink.

"Good morning Maggie," Nenene nodded to her with a little smile, moving in to grab her own toothbrush. "Who's turn is it to cook breakfast today, Michelle?" she asked the green haired girl.

"Mine," Michelle said mournfully. She brightened up as she looked down at the little redhead, "Anita, could you help me?"

"I'd better," Anita sighed, "I've had your cooking."

"Don't be so cruel, Anita," Michelle pouted.

"Thanks," Nenene murmured with a relieved sigh. She had tried Michelle's cooking, too, and hoped not to have to eat it ever again.

The four of them finished up breakfast, then Nenene went back upstairs to her work room. She sat down at her computer and checked her e-mail first, then she called up her website. She was surprised to see a message attached to the Yomiko section, and clicked on it.

"Dan Wisner," Nenene murmured as she read the message, "The Mariana's university?" She called up a search-engine, typing in the school name and calling up their site. She checked through the teacher's listing, coming to a dead stop when she hit a certain name, "My god. Yomiko?!"

A digital image was attached to the listing, and with a mix of excitement and fear Nenene clicked on it. Yomiko Readman looked a bit older, her long hair flowing over her shoulders as she smiled tentatively. A short biography was attached, and Nenene ran through it quickly.

"Where have you been the last five years, Yomiko?" Nenene murmured as she finally sat

back with a soft sigh. She checked her schedule, clearing all her upcoming appointments, then got on the phone. "Lee-san?" she smiled at her editor's voice, "I may be out of the country for awhile. I'll send you the latest pages as I finish them."

"But Sensei.." Lee started to protest, and Nenene could easily imagine him dropping the pen he was chewing on.

"Don't worry, I'll keep to my usual schedule. See you later," Nenene answered cheerfully, hanging up. She opened up her door and stuck her head out into the hallway as she called, "Maggie, Michelle, Anita?"

"Hai?" they answered from different places in the house, Maggie in the dining room under a table, Michelle upstairs in their own bedroom and Anita out on the porch..

"Pack your bags," Nenene yelled, "we're going on a little trip!" Not waiting for an answer, she strode back to the computer and called up her email account. She copied the email address from the Yomiko post, composed the message quickly, then hit send.

"Thank you, Mr. Wisner," Nenene smiled wryly as she murmured, "whoever you are."

Meanwhile, half way around the world in the dorm room that he shared with his roommate Koyomi Kishiro, Dan Wisner suddenly had to sneeze. The two of them were sharing a dorm room due to a computer mix up, Dan having been listed as a female in the system. While the staff had soon fixed the bug the school had already filled most of the dorm spaces, leaving the boy and girl stuck with each other for the time being.

"You catching as cold, Dan?" Koyomi asked curiously.

Dan shook his head, reaching out and grabbing at a tissue to blow his nose. "No," he wiped at his nose, "I don't know where that came from."

Koyomi chuckled to herself as she suggested, "Then maybe someone is talking about you."

A soft sound from Dan's personal computer called for his attention, indicating that he had a message. He got up from his seat and walked over to his desk, clicking on the computer's email program. "I'll be damned," he murmured, seeing the name attached.

"That's the author you emailed, Nenene," Koyomi read over his shoulder. She jabbed him in the shoulder when Dan hesitated, "Open it."

"Thank you for the message," Nenene's mail said, "and I look forward to meeting you soon. Sumiregawa Nenene."

"Looks like she's coming here," Koyomi said calmly, her expression thoughtful as she considered what might be happening soon.

"Oh, yeah," Dan sighed, feeling a little stunned. He had not expected such a fast response and felt a sudden headache coming on. "I wonder if we should go tell Yomiko about this?" he asked.

"It's your email," Koyomi smiled, "and I think she'd be a bit upset if Nenene came here with no warning at all."

"You're right," Dan sighed, "but you were the one who actually sent the message, so you're going to help me."

"All right, all right," Koyomi smiled. She looked thoughtful, "Should we talk to her after class, or see her on her own time?"

"What, at her home?" Dan looked at her in surprise, "How are we going to do that?"

"Leave it to me," Koyomi grinned wickedly, leaving Dan with a sinking feeling in his guts.

Dan had the oddest look on his face later that day as they went up to the apartment that Yomiko lived in. "How did you manage this?" he asked weakly.

"Kelly hacked Yomiko's school records," Koyomi shrugged casually. "According to her the security is top rate, too."

"Gah," Dan made a face as he muttered, "I didn't need to know that." They reached the door together, both hesitating, then Dan sucked it up and knocked firmly.

The door opened a few moments later, and Dan's eyes widened slightly. The slim black haired woman standing there was clearly not their teacher Yomiko, and she was only wearing a awfully short damp towel that barely hid her well shaped breasts. "Yes?" she asked.

Koyomi had to fight to control her amusement at Dan's bug eyed reaction as she asked bluntly, "Is Yomiko Readman here?"

"Who wants to know?" the woman seemed entirely untroubled by her near nudity, her blue-black hair falling around a attractive face.

"We're students from her English class," Dan managed to get out, blushing.

"Ah," Nancy nodded slightly. She turned back to the interior of the suite to call, "Sensei, your students are here to see you!"

"What?" Yomiko walked towards the entranceway, blinking in surprise when she saw them standing there. "Koyomi, Dan?" she blinked.

"Hello, Ms Readman," Koyomi waved casually, not at all bothered by their intruding on the two older women.

"Hi," Dan nodded weakly.

"Care to come in?" Nancy drawled, also rather amused by the whole situation.

"Thanks," Koyomi nodded, all but dragging the visibly uncomfortable Dan inside. They all sat down in chairs around the kitchen table, Dan looking about in awe at the piles of books that covered every available surface.

"What did you want to see me about?" Yomiko asked. Rather gently she added, "If it's something academic, you should really see me at the school.."

"No," Dan shook his head, "It's.. I mean.. " He sighed, reaching into his pocket for the printout he'd made of Nenene's message. "Here," he passed it over.

"Smooth," Koyomi shook her head wryly.

Yomiko unfolded it, her eyes widening as she quickly read the words. "What?" Nancy moved over, putting a comforting hand on Yomiko's shoulder.

Yomiko gave her a grateful smile. "We'd better get an extra room ready," she passed the note over to Nancy, "it looks like Nenene is coming to the islands."

"Better call Shane too," Nancy murmured thoughtfully.

"Shane-san!" Yomiko called and a older man emerged from one of the rooms branching off from the hallway.

"The librarian?" Dan blinked.

Koyomi looked at the three adults, a smile twitching at her lips, "Threesome? I'm impressed."

Shane shook his head, blushing, "We're just roommates."

"Here," Nancy handed the printout over to him.

"Not quite what I expected when I showed you her site," Shane admitted as he looked up at the students wryly.

"You did!" Nancy looked at him, annoyed.

"I think we'll be going now," Dan said as he and Koyomi swiftly snuck out.

"Poor guy," Koyomi noted as they hurried down the hall.

To be continued....


	11. Exploration

Exploration

As the muck welled up over his boots and splashed down over his socks, Shane Llewellyn cursed under his breath. "I hate this island," the brown haired man muttered, pulling his feet free from the mud and slogging forward through the underground tunnel.

The earpiece Shane wore chirped softly, then Nancy Mukahari asked with some amusement, "What happened?"

"The underground stream feeding the tunnel is deeper than I thought," Shane admitted ruefully, "went right over my boots."

"Does it match the layout we figured?" Nancy asked, biting off a chuckle.

"So far," Shane admitted as he walked on. "I could so think of better things to do with my day off," he muttered.

"You said it," Nancy agreed.

Shane paused, feeling rather silly in his 'explorer wear.' He wore black trousers tucked into heavy rubber boots, a t-shirt, a camouflage jacket adorned with pouches and a baseball cap with a flashlight attached. He was dressed like this because it was the best gear he could acquire unobtrusively, and the mail-order gear he sent for hadn't arrived.

Investigating the islands for the rare book that was their target, Shane, Yomiko and Nancy had made several distressing discoveries. Firstly, the island had a long history of habitation. Second, there had been several earthquakes, historically, that had caused the collapse of structures underground. Third, much of the school was built over the rubble of earlier buildings. All these factors meant that the number of places the lost book could be had increased exponentially.

Finding maps of the old structures seemed impossible, currently, though they would continue to try and find them, but several students had found at least one tunnel underground in the past several years. After some debate it was decided Shane would take a look down there on his day off, sort of as a initial reconnaissance.

Falling water had opened up a underground tunnel, apparently, then the liquid merely flowed down into it while gently widening the hole. Entering had required some careful climbing down a steep rise, but thankfully the tunnel itself was roomy and not too slick. Seismic readings from Balalaika's arrival survey gave them a rough layout, but it was mostly still unknown.

Shane's light shone off the walls, illuminating them a blue-gray as he walked on. They were oddly regular, too, the height and width of the tunnel almost regular. He reached out and touched the stone, feeling the smoothness as he frowned thoughtfully.

"Hey, Nancy?" he asked.

"Yeah?" Nancy asked, sounding more than a bit bored.

"Are there any chance these tunnels are man made?" Shannon asked, panning his light around the tunnel. He couldn't see any tool marks on the walls, but he supposed they could have been worn away with time....

"Are you serious?" Nancy asked, sounding surprised. As he related the unusual regularity of the walls she said, "I suppose it's possible,. But what would a school on a remote island we doing with underground tunnels?"

"Just one of the many questions we want answered, Nancy," Shane noted dryly.

Shane walked on, the tunnel dipping downward as he went. After about ten minutes he reached what was clearly a man made junction, a 't' with two paths going left and right. "Which way do you want to try?" Nancy asked him.

"Left takes me in to the island, right to the shore," Shane mused, "assuming they go roughly straight. Let's try the shore."

"Why that way?" Nancy asked as she used a computer to plot out a rough map of the tunnels.

"The first operations rule Drake Anderson taught me," Shane said as he walked down the tunnel, "make sure the escape routes are clear."

The creek had turned to follow the inner tunnel, so this route was relatively dry as Shane walked on. He could smell sea air as he progressed gradually upwards, and the tunnel was more irregular than the other. Sections of the roof showed cracks, and as he began to see light ahead he nearly tripped over several fallen boulders. Much more cautiously he moved forward, reaching the opening which lead to a sheer drop down to the sea.

"I've reached the end of the tunnel," Shane reported as he peered outside carefully, the brisk wind blowing his hair, "it leads out from a cliff. No way to climb down by hand, though I suppose a expert could do it."

"And how about you?" Nancy had to ask, knowing Shane had been trained by a expert or two, over the years. .

Shane shrugged, even though he knew she couldn't see it as he studied the cliff. "Maybe,." he admitted, "I sure as hell wouldn't want to try it in a hurry."

"Fair enough," Nancy noted, adding it to the map.

Shane turned around, walking back towards the original intersection even as he considered the situation. These tunnels certainly seemed man made, even though the entrance way had been revealed by erosion. There were no signs or indications of who built it, but the regularity of the tunnels and the fact they were still standing showed some skill had gone into making them.

Reaching the intersection Shane panned his light over the walls and floor, more out of habit than anything else, and stopped. Kneeling down he examined a scuffed tread mark, a faint frown crossing his face. The pattern did not match his boots, which meant that there was someone else in here, now or possibly in the past.

"I'm back at the intersection," Shane said quietly, "spotted another footprint. I might not be all alone down here."

"You want extraction?" Nancy asked tersely.

That, in the language they spoke on operations, meant that Shane would bug out and Nancy and any other operatives involved would hurry to meet him, usually loaded for bear. They'd had to do it a few times, in different parts of the world, and it was always a dangerous thing.

"No, if needed I'll pull out on my own,." Shane answered seriously. "No reason to blow your or Yomiko's cover, after all."

"Stay in touch," Nancy ordered as Shane headed down the left tunnel.

The stream ran down one side of the tunnel, gouging a deep path in the rock as it flowed by. Splashing water had let some kind of moss grow on the path, making Shane watch his step as he walked on. He didn't see any indications of of human passage here, which meant either the other person had stopped at the intersection and gone back, or was trailing him.

'Comforting thought,' Shane thought dryly.

The tunnel flattened out as it lead into a larger chamber, and Shane carefully hugged the wall as he peered inside, noting the water disappearing down a hole off to the side. Taking in the room he blinked in disbelief, then took another long look just to be sure. "Nancy," he murmured, "you aren't gonna believe this."

"Yeah?" Nancy asked sharply.

"I've found a large chamber," Shane said flatly, "and it looks like some kind of mad alchemist's lab." With that he began to describe what he saw, including several vats of unknown fluids, massive corkscrew lines between clear containers, tables, vats, basins and what most looked like some kind of lightning rod.

"Any guesses on how old it is?" Nancy asked as Shane cautiously made his way into the room, looking around warily.

"No idea," Shane admitted as he carefully touched a glass tube, "there's dust everywhere, but nothing's been broken."

"Does the tunnel continue on?" Nancy asked seriously.

Shane took a few steps forward, wishing the light he was wearing was more powerful. "Two tunnels on the far side, I think," he reported. As he walked deeper into the room he passed a man sized wide glass tube, blinking as he realized it contained something.

Hearing him curse Nancy asked, "What?!"

"Some kind of jars," Shane looked at them with revulsion, "about human sized. One's got a badly deformed man inside, another... some kind of demon dog. It's big, heavily fanged and scary." As he got close enough to look the dog's eye sprung open in the yellow fluid, "Shit!" Shane stepped back, "The dog's alive!"

Even as Nancy barked for him to pull out Shane was running for the first tunnel, turning back to look. The Dog twisted in the glass cage then threw itself against the side wall, splintering the glass. A few more b lows and the foul smelling fluid gushed out, then the dog broke free, dropping to the ground in a parody of birth.

Shane bolted for the tunnel as the beast was getting it's bearings. He ran through the chemist's equipment then blinked as he saw a woman in the tunnel mouth, dressed in shorts and t-shirt, carrying twin pistols. "Laura Croft?" he joked as he ran right towards her.

"Don't even start," Revy Chambers growled as the half Asian, black haired woman saw the hound chasing after him. She aimed and fired one shot per pistol, staggering the dog which collapsed to the ground. "Well," she slid one pistol away, "that's that."

"Holy shit," Shane blinked as the dog picked itself up, seemingly shaking the bullets off to run at them again.

"What the fuck?!" Revy yelped, pointing her free pistol at it and emptying the clip, this time. The dog's flesh shredded as it bled a puss yellow fluid, staggering forward even with it's obscene wounds.

"Shit," Shane repeated, looking around wildly. A oversized wrench rested on a table by the door and he grabbed it, hefting the thing. Stepping forward he swung down at the staggering dog as hard as he could, shattering the skull and driving it down.

The two watched warily, but except for twitching the enormous dog was finally still. "Think it's dead?" Revy asked, reloading her pistols. 

"I don't know and I don't want to wait to find out," Shane answered, nodding towards the open tunnel, "let's get the hell out of here."

"Right," Revy agreed, both hurrying down the tunnel. They ran down the tunnel then she blinked as he jumped into the stream and walked fast up it. "What are you doing?" she demanded.

"Breaking off my scent, in case that dog keeps coming," Shane answered briskly.

"You don't think it's dead?" Revy blinked as they ran, "You crushed it's brain!"

"It shouldn't have lived through being shot, either," Shane shrugged. Revy looked at him a moment, then joined him in the stream as they reached the intersection and took the tunnel out.

**0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0**

"So what did you tell her?" Yomiko asked sympathetically as she got him a piping hot cup of tea and a plate of biscuits.

"Just that a student told me about the tunnels and I wanted to explore," Shane answered, taking the tea gratefully.

"Think she bought it?" Nancy asked.

"I hid the earpiece as soon as I could and it was dark in the tunnel, so she might not have seen it," Shane shrugged, "but to be honest, I don't think so. On the other hand, she can't prove I was doing anything wrong."

Nancy nodded as she had her own tea, "True."

"What do you think will happen to the lab?" Yomiko asked curiously.

"Revy will tell Balalaika," Shane shrugged, "she'll investigate it." He sighed, "Hopefully without unleashing any more critters."

**0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0**

"So," Balalaika said with some amusement as the white blonde woman looked around the lab, "you were saved by the librarian?"

"Don't rub it in, Big Sis," Revy grumbled. "I don't buy his 'I was just looking around' story, either," she added.

"Did he knew this was here?" Balalaika asked thoughtfully, a unlit cigar between her teeth.

"No, I think he was as surprised by that thing as I was," Revy admitted as they watched a hazmat team bag up the still occasionally moving creature and haul it away. "What are you going to do with it?" she asked.

"We'll burn it," Balalaika answered calmly. "And carefully dispose of the ashes. I have no wish to star in a horror movie."

"Seconded," Revy shuddered, remembering it getting up after being shot. She brightened as another man entered, "Hey, Rock!"

"Revy," Rock grinned, the Asian businessman as crisp as ever in his suit. He looked at Balalaika in a more serious way, "I've talked to Benny and Jane, but we really need qualified scientists in here to take this shit apart."

Balalaika made a face, "I don't want word of this lab getting out. I fear it would damage the island's reputation."

"We'll find someone discrete," Rock promised before hurrying off.

Revy watched Rock go, feeling a slight pang at the end of their romance so long ago. She wanted a smoke but didn't dare, looking at the stained spot on the floor where they'd scraped up the demon dog, as the lab techs were calling it.

'You know,' Revy mused to herself, 'that librarian really was kind of impressive....'

To be continued....

Notes: Based off some story bits I and Dranger came up for Tennokiken, slightly rewritten.


	12. Investigator

Investigator

Nancy Mukahari checked the address of her appointment, then looked over the slightly shabby building. With a shrug the purple haired woman went inside, walking over to the elevator and going up to the third floor. She checked her note again and read off room numbers, eventually finding the office marked 'Asogi Consulting.'

The secretary looked young, maybe only in her teens as the light purple haired girl looked up attentively. "Hello," she smiled, "how may I help you?"

"My name is Nancy," she smiled back, "I think I have a appointment with Miss Asogi?"

"Right," she smiled as she got up, "my name's Mimi. Follow me."

They walked into the inner office without knocking, revealing a good looking dark green haired woman who was casually sitting behind the desk. The rather well endowed woman with glasses sat up as they entered, smiling in welcome.

"Rin Asogi," Mimi smiled impishly, "meet Nancy Mukahari."

Rin came around her desk and offered her hand, "Nice to meet you."

Nancy shook it, surprised at the strength of her grip and her warm smile. "You too," she agreed. Curiously she said, "I thought you were a private investigation company, not consultants?"

Rin waved her to a seat as she said cheerfully, "We are, but we also do a lot of other stuff. Jack of all trades, that's me."

"Nothing illegal, of course," Mimi perched on the side of the desk, her skirt riding up a bit, "but everything from body guarding to investigation."

"Fair enough," Nancy nodded. She leaned forward, "As we discussed on the phone, I applied for a private investigators license on the island. I qualify for most of the requirements, but I need to do a six month trial period with a local agency."

"And you saw our help wanted ad," Rin noted. "Can I see your resume?" she asked.

"Sure," Nancy passed the sheets over.

Rin flipped through the papers, her expression thoughtful. "British police, SAS qualified?" she noted. She looked at Nancy, "Why not apply with the police? They'd pay good money to have you."

Nancy shrugged, "What my resume does not say is that I had a little trouble with authority figures. As in, I don't work well with them."

Mimi snickered softly even as Rin grinned. "My kind of person," she noted cheerfully.

"What do you think?" Mimi looked at Rin.

"How about we try you for a month?" Rin offered. "If it doesn't work out, we can just go our separate ways."

"I'd like that," Nancy nodded.

Rin stuck her hand out, "Well then, welcome to Asogi Consulting."

Nancy shook it, "Thanks."

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0

"And that was it?" a mildly surprised Shane asked over the cellphone as Nancy walked from the office on her first assignment.

"Yup," Nancy agreed, "though I bet you that they're checking into my background now."

"Your background was set up by the Library, it'll hold up," Shane said.

"It better," Nancy agreed. "Keep an eye on Yomiko for me, I might be late tonight."

"Will do," Shane said before they disconnected.

As Nancy walked through the neighborhood, she considered what she had read in the Library's file on Rin Asogi. The woman's file was thick and Nancy only had time to skim it, but she could barely believe some of it. Rin was apparently some kind of immortal, locked at her present age & appearance. She literally could not die, though that did not mean she couldn't be hurt. She simply recovered from any harm done to her, rapidly but also quite painfully.

Where Rin came from or how old she was, no one had any idea. She started out in their files in Shinjuku, Tokyo, where she had run a earlier version of her consulting agency. She dealt with various incidents in and around Tokyo, even coming into contact with Library agents. Rin had even been hired by the Library once or twice, though only through intermediaries. Thankfully she hadn't met any of their team, tho she had encountered Drake at least once.

'Remind me to call him later,' Nancy noted as she reached the area Rin had described. With a sigh she cupped her hands around her mouth and called, "Here, kitty kitty kitty!"

Meanwhile, back at the office Mimi's fingers were flying over the computer keyboard as she hunted for data. "It's awfully mean sending her after Hercules," she noted.

Rin smirked, thinking of her several encounters with the half feral cat. "If she can't take a few scratches...," she shrugged. She looked at Mimi curiously, "How does she check out?"

"Background is clean so far," Mimi nodded thoughtfully as she worked, "I even found the demerits for criticizing a superior officer." She sat back with a frown, "It's almost TOO clean."

"You think she's hiding something?" Rin asked curiously.

"WE all have secrets, Rin," Mimi softly mused, "it just depends on if they're gonna blow up in our face later on."

Rin nodded, knowing she had her own secrets to hide. "Do some discrete digging," she suggested, "if you want, we can talk to a informant about it."

"Please, no," Mimi made a face, "I don't like what they charge us."

Rin walked over and hugged Mimi from behind, kissing the top of her head. "Feeling jealous?" she gently teased.

"No, I'm not," Mimi pouted.

"Oh, really?" Rin laughed.

There was a sound out in the hallway, a mix of a growl and a cough and the two women separated. Mimi looked up at Rin, "You don't think she already...?"

The door opened and Nancy staggered inside, twigs in her fair, good suit dirty and cuts on her hands, but in her arms she carried a large, very disgruntled cat who was glaring about him dangerously. "I hope like hell he hasn't got anything infectious," Nancy growled as she hauled the struggling cat to a carrier waiting by the desk.

"We'll cover any shots you need," Mimi offered as she opened the door and got the annoyed cat inside. "Where did you find him?"

"In a gopher burrow," Nancy said grimly as she looked at her filthy clothes, "looks like he beat up and evicted the last occupant."

"That cat scares me," Rin noted wryly. She looked at Nancy, "Can you believe his owner is the cutest little ten year old? I wouldn't take the case otherwise."

"Heh," Nancy smiled slightly.

About half an hour later and the promised adorable girl appeared, nearly squealing with joy to be reunited with her cat. The big fuzz ball took the hugging with good nature, curling up against her as she rumbled out her purr. The girl smiled up at them, "Thank you!"

"You're welcome," Mimi smiled then nodded towards Nancy, who had managed to clean up a bit while they were waiting, "but she found her this time."

The little girl looked a bit more shyly at Nancy as she repeated, "Thank you."

Nancy knelt down, giving the little girl her best smile as she said, "I was glad to help."

The little girl left soon after, waving goodbye as she skipped down the street with the cat in her arms. "So," Rin said as they watched the girl go from the window upstairs, "what do you think of the job? Want out already?"

Nancy had her hands in her pocket, faintly surprised at how nice it had been to help the kid. "I think I'd like to stick around," she answered, "if you'll have me."

"I think you'll fit in," Mimi smiled.

Rin sat at her desk tiredly as she smiled, "Mimi, could you get us some water?"

"Sure," Mimi left the room for a moment, returning with a unmarked bottle and three shot glasses. She poured for all of them, perching on the edge of the desk again.

"Bottoms up," Rin toasted Nancy.

Nancy tossed the 'water' back, then nearly choked as the taste hit her. "That's vodka!" she yelped, coughing.

Mimi shrugged as she said cheerfully, "Vodka means water in Russian."

"Sorry," Rin patted her on the back, "I should have warned you."

"Geh," Nancy's eyes watered but she drank the rest of it, then held out the glass. "Hit me again," she ordered, "I still feel the scratches from that damn cat."

Mimi laughed as she refilled her cup, "Yes, I think you're going to fit in just fine."

To be continued...

Notes: Rin and Mimi are from Rin: Daughters of Mnemosyne, a semi-adult anime featuring a immortal private eye/consultant. Going to be mostly ignoring canon except for the basic concepts, so you do NOT have to see the series before hand.


	13. Christmas: One

Note: Much of this chapter was co-written by Dranger, back when we were working on a shared universe called Tennokiken.

Christmas on the Island: ROD

Nancy Mukahari tapped on the door of the office, then stuck her head inside. "I'm going to be taking off soon," she said, "do you need anything else?"

Rin Asogi looked up, pushing her long black hair out of her face. "No, I'm fine," she said warmly, "go enjoy your Christmas Eve."

"Thanks," Nancy said, then she produced a nicely wrapped package from behind her back, "and here you go."

"What's this?" Rin asked as she took the package, shaking it thoughtfully.

"Yomiko insisted," Nancy shrugged, "so there you go. I did make sure to ask her not to get a book, but other than that.."

"I'll unwrap it later," Rin laughed, the older woman expecting the gift was a book after all. She got up from behind her desk as the business suit clad woman said, "Have a Merry Christmas, both you and Yomiko."

"You, too," Nancy grinned. "Do you and Mimi have anything planned?" she asked, feeling a pang of guilt at not inviting her new boss out.

"We have some friends on the island with a... similar condition. We'll be sharing dinner with them," Rin told her, smiling.

"Well, have fun," Nancy nodded as she headed out onto the street.

Out on the street it was comfortable as she walked along the commercial street. It was a bit odd, the weather so comfortable even in this time of year, but

Nancy thought that she could get used to it. She could even get away with wearing just a leather jacket, jeans and T-shirt.

"Hey, Mukahari!" a woman's voice cried. Revy walked up to where Nancy waited, her leather jacket and simple clothes clearly suiting her. Somehow, the school security officer always looked dangerous, no matter how casual her clothes were. She hesitated, her short black hair falling into her eyes as she said, "You know Llewellyn, right?"

"I do," Nancy admitted a touch warily, "why?"

"I...," Revy hesitated, then the woman shook her head briskly. "Never mind," she growled, trotting off.

"Is this what I think it is?" Nancy murmured to herself as she shook her head slightly as she walked on. Still, she wasn't really one to talk, back when she and Yomiko had first gotten together she had been pretty damn clueless. But they had a good time that Christmas, and it had become something of a tradition.

Yomiko beamed as Nancy opened the door, she took a half step inside and she threw her arms around the startled Nancy's neck. The kiss was vigorous, Yomiko putting real effort into it, both of them separating reluctantly.

"What the heck?" Nancy yelped.

Yomiko pointed up in explanation, "Mistletoe."

Shane laughed softly from where he sat on the couch and said, "She didn't kiss me like that when I came in." The brown haired man looked around him curiously, "The apartment looks so nice! Where did you manage to hide all of the books?"

"Don't open any closets," Nancy advised him with a smile. She and Yomiko walked over to the couch, cuddling there together. "Rin's gift has been delivered, as promised."

"Good," Yomiko beamed. She hesitated, "You know, I said I wasn't going to get her a book, but I found the perfect one and..."

Nancy just laughed, "It's all right, love. I thought the gift felt sort of book like." She pulled her close, "I know you pretty well, after all."

"Shane," Yomiko looked over at him, "are you going out later tonight?"

Shane blushed slightly, "It seems I've been invited to the dorm party. Dan, Koyomi and their crowd seem to be planning something short of apocalyptic." He paused, "Though not by much, I think."

"You are in so much trouble," Nancy said sympathetically.

Shane shrugged, not denying that.

Nancy smiled slightly as she added, "I ran into Revy tonight, by the way." Her grin widened as she added, "She asked about you."

Shane sat up, blinking. "Damn, you think she saw something when I ran into her in the tunnels?" he asked.

Nancy gave him a look, "I don't think it was about that."

"Huh?" Shane blinked, clearly not getting what she was trying to say.

Yomiko frowned and decided to change the subject, "What time is it?"

Shane checked his watch, then pushed himself up off of the couch as he said, "Yeah, it's about that time."

The laptop computer was activated, then the modem engaged. That was connected to the television and a small digital camera was set up before they gathered together in it's line of sight. The TV showed static, then that cleared to show a large room, packed with people.

"Merry Christmas, Joker," Nancy offered with a grin.

"Merry Christmas, Nancy," Joker agreed. The blonde haired man wore a Santa hat, a look that was oddly cute compared to his normal formality.

"Merry Christmas," Wendy beamed, the little blonde visibly tipsy while around her the staff of the Great British Library called out their greetings as well.

Yomiko's cheeks glowed red, "It's so good to hear from you all!"

"I hope you got the Christmas gifts we sent you," Shane offered with a grin.

"Of course," Joker held up the square shaped gift, along with the others, all of which were quite clearly books.

"No imagination," Nancy shook her head, but she was grinning.

"My gift to you is a bit more insubstantial," Joker continued. He smiled, "The Paper, Miss Deep," he nodded towards Yomiko and Nancy, "and The Word," he nodded to

Shane, "you are going to continue to be assigned to the Mariana's Islands for the foreseeable future."

"And if we're needed for other assignments?" Shane asked as he leaned forward intently, trying to be business like even as he felt joy over the idea of staying in one place for awhile.

"We can always take you off of the island for a few days," Joker said simply. He smiled at the happy expressions on their faces, "I'm glad to see it meets with your approval."

"Thank you, sir," Yomiko bounced to her feet happily.

"We'll be ready when you need us sir," Nancy nodded to him firmly.

Joker looked a little startled as the visibly tipsy Wendy leaned into him, smiling up at him with a fuzzy sort of happiness. "It seems it's time to let you go now," he awkwardly tried to push the blonde back, "the Season's best to you and yours." With that, the connection was cut.

"I'm glad we're sticking around," Shane grinned as he got up. "If you don't mind I'll take off, leave you two to celebrate together."

"Thank you, Shane," Yomiko beamed, snuggling close to Nancy.

"Have a good time," Shane laughed, grabbing his overcoat as he headed out into the twilight. As he walked away from the apartment building a rental car drove up, but he ignored it. 'Probably someone's relatives visiting,' he mused.

Nancy held Yomiko close, sighing softly. At Yomiko's questioning gaze she said, "It's been a very long day, love. Had to deal with an adultery case, those are never fun."

"Is there anything I can do to help you feel better?" Yomiko asked, looking up at Nancy with a cute little smile.

"You're already doing it," Nancy sighed happily.

They snuggled a moment, relaxing when... the doorbell rang. Both looked at each other in surprise, then Yomiko wondered, "Shane didn't forget something, did he?"

"I don't think so," Nancy said as she and Yomiko got up together. Yomiko lead the way to the door, Nancy following right behind her.

"Hello," Yomiko said cheerfully as she opened up the door, only to freeze. "Sensei?" she murmured softly, eyes wide in surprise.

The brown haired woman standing there smiled, "Hello, Sensei." Nenene Sumiregawa smiled, pushing the glasses that once belonged to Yomiko herself up her nose, "It's been a long time."

Nancy reached out to put a protective hand on Yomiko's arm, instantly recognizing the young woman, despite their never having met before, "Nenene."

Nenene took in their posture, an odd smile on her face. "It seems we have a lot of catching up to do," she finally said.

"Does anyone understand what's going on?" Anita asked, the little redhead and her two sisters standing just behind Nenene.

"It's easy," Michelle smiled excitedly, pushing her light green hair out of her eyes, "you see, Nenene was once in love with Yomiko, but she disappeared for five years. And now that Nenene has finally found her, she's living with this woman.."

"Michelle!" Maggie scolded, the tall black haired girl looking stressed.

Nancy took over, seeing that her lover was too shaken to move. "Come on in," she opened the door wide, "let's talk."

To be continued...

Notes: At the time this chapter was originally posted Shane was seeing a character named Sylvie, which I've edited out. This chapter follows up on Chapter Ten, as well.


	14. Christmas: Two

Note: Much of this chapter was co-written by Dranger, back when we were working on a shared universe called Tennokiken.

Christmas on the Island: ROD

Part Two

Nenene blinked as the dark purple haired woman took over, waving them all inside. "Come on in," she opened up the door wide, "let's talk."

They filed in, Nenene looking at the purple haired woman thoughtfully. "I don't think we've been introduced," she finally said coldly.

"Nancy," she smiled slightly, "Nancy Mukahari." She looked past Nenene to the three young women who were following her, "And they are?"

"Maggie," the tall, dark haired woman nodded slightly.

"Hi," the green haired shorter woman beamed at Nancy, "my name is Michelle. My favorite novels are the Harry Potter series, and my shy big sister likes Hemmingway."

"Anita," the little redhead girl scowled. "We're sensei's bodyguards, more or less."

"I'm sorry," Yomiko managed, still looking wide eyed at Nenene, "I'm being such a bad host. Sit down, would you like something to eat or drink?"

"Thank you," Maggie said softly as Nenene and the sisters sat down on the couch together, her and Anita on either side of Nenene.

Nancy and Yomiko moved over to the kitchen, talking softly, and Nenene tried to get a hold of her racing emotions. She had been looking for Yomiko for so long, but never in her wildest dreams had she expected to find Yomiko with another woman. And watching them interact, it was pretty clear the other woman was her lover.

"Are you all right?" Anita asked Nenene softly.

Nenene smiled to herself wryly, the little girl seemed to have a knack for knowing what was going on with her emotions. 'Just like that night in Hong Kong,' she mused. "I'll manage," Nenene smiled, "just a little shook up, I think."

"They seem nice," Maggie noted in her understated way.

"And they're so cute together," Michelle gushed cheerfully.

Nenene winced as their hosts walked back into the room.

"Here you go," Yomiko brought a plate with Christmas cookies on it, while behind her Nancy brought cups with eggnog in them.

As Nancy was passing them out she gave Nenene a sympathetic smile as she said, "I put a shot of rum in yours, I hope you don't mind."

"Thanks," Nenene felt herself returning that smile reluctantly. She looked across where Yomiko and Nancy were sitting down and said, "I'm not quite sure where to start, honestly."

"Where were you for the past five years would be a good place to begin," Michelle offered cheerfully before Nenene gave her a look and she shut up.

"It's a fair question," Yomiko admitted with a soft sigh.

Nancy took a deep breath and said, "You remember when someone took a shot at you, shortly before Yomiko left Tokyo?"

"You were there," Nenene realized, looking over at Nancy in surprise and compairing her to a fleeting figure in her memory. She nodded slightly, "Yes, I remember it."

"You were targeted," Yomiko said miserably while looking down at the cookie she held, "because of your connection to me."

"What?" Nenene sat up in surprise.

"All the odd stuff that happened to us back in Tokyo," Yomiko said softly, "at least some of it was connected to me, and... another job I had."

Maggie had a thoughtful look on her face, Michelle had wide eyes and Anita had a fierce look on her face as she blurted out, "What sort of job..."

"I can't talk about it," Yomiko shook her head firmly, "I gave my word."

Nenene looked like she wanted to press, but she knew Yomiko would keep her word. "So you left Tokyo," Nenene said softly, her voice odd, "because you felt your presence there was putting me

in danger?"

"Yes," Yomiko said softly.

Nancy cleared her throat. "I asked Yomiko to keep my presence in her life a secret back then," she said quietly, "she wanted us to meet, but I told her no." She looked at Nenene sympathetically, "I should have let her do that, I'm sorry."

Nenene felt a flash of anger, one she forced down. Obviously this Nancy perceived how Nenene felt, and even more obviously she was trying to be kind and mature about it. While all Nenene wanted to do was be totally unreasonable, in all honestly.

"So you've been avoiding Tokyo and Nenene for the past five years because you might put her in danger?" Maggie asked quietly. She frowned, "Wouldn't it have been better to just go after whoever was threatening her?"

"It wasn't an option at the time," Yomiko chose her words carefully.

"Which means you went after them later," Anita said, clearly sharp for such a young girl. She paused, "So why didn't you contact Nenene then?"

Yomiko took a gulp of her eggnog, presumably for courage as she said, "I wanted to, more than once." With a soft sigh she added, "I just couldn't seem to find the words to begin... other than, I'm sorry."

"That's a pretty good thing to say," Nenene smiled. She got up from her chair, looking out the window as a weak snow began to fall again. "I wish you had told me back then," she finally said softly, "I would have chosen to face the danger with you, I think."

"I knew that," Yomiko softly agreed as she flashed a sudden shy smile, "that's probably why I didn't tell you."

Nenene laughed softly, "You know me too well, Sensei."

"So what are you going to do now?" Nancy asked curiously, "How long are you planning to stay on the island?"

"Indefinitely," Nenene said with a grin.

"Eh?" Yomiko blinked.

"We talked to the principal before coming here," Michelle beamed, "the school would happily have an author like Nenene Sumiregawa in residence."

"So we'll have plenty of time to catch up," Nenene said with a smirk. "But now, I'd best go check out the suite the school set me up with. Come on, ladies."

"Hai!" all three sisters chimed in, following Nenene to the door.

Nenene paused at the door, offering the two of them a smile, "Merry Christmas, Sensei." And with that they were out the door, talking as they went.

"Hopefully the two bedroom suite will be large enough for all of us," Michelle said.

"I could always take a closet," Maggie offered.

Anita shook her head, "You and your small spaces."

Nancy closed the door, walking back to where Yomiko had sat down in the livingroom."Are you all right?" Nancy finally asked into the silence.

Yomiko smiled up at her weakly, "A bit overwhelmed by it all, honestly." She paused, "So what do we do now?"

**0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0**

Shane looked up, surprised it was snowing again, then continued walking. It wasn't too far to the dorms, thankfully, and he needed the exercise anyway. It was strangely peaceful as he walked, only a few people still running errands, which was why he saw a familiar figure loitering not far from the school dorm buildings.

"Hey, Llewellyn," Revy called as she pushed off from where she had been leaning against a wall, dressed in casual clothes and a jacket.

"Ms. Chambers," Shane nodded warily, not sure what the dangerous woman was doing, stalking him this late at night.

"I'm glad I caught you," Revy admitted, "I wanted to talk to you." She ran a gloved hand through her hair, "The truth is... I wanted to say thank you."

"Thank you?" Shane blinked.

"When you saved me in the tunnels," Revy growled, making a face. "I froze, when that thing got back up..."

"It was like a bad horror movie," Shane agreed, shuddering slightly.

"Yeah," Revy nodded. She looked at him with a mix of confusion and irritation on her face as she blurted, "I wanna buy you a drink."

"Oh," Shane blinked as he answered, "uhm, I've kinda been invited to the dorm Christmas party, and I said I'd come."

Revy scowled as she muttered, "Damn."

Shane hesitated, a sudden idea occuring to him. It was a bad idea, possibly disasterous, but somehow... "Why don't you come with me?" he offered. "They said I could bring a date."

"I am not your date," Revy scowled warningly.

"Perish the thought," Shane smiled. "I'm sure they'll have something to drink, knowing college students."

"Better not be a keg," Revy said as she fell into step beside him. "I like rum, usually."

"I'm sure we can scrape up something," Shane answered as they walked by several students, one or two rather stunned to see Revy with him.

"Yeah," Revy gave one of the boys one of her scarier smiles and he visibly blanched, "this could be fun."

'Here's hoping we don't end up with a burnt down building by morning,' Shane thought, but despite his grim thoughts he was smiling. Maybe it was time he did something a little wild, in his life. He had taken things pretty safe in her personal life, at least.

"What are you smiling at?" Revy asked, looking at him curiously as they entered the main hall, decorated in gaudy Christmas stuff.

"Just that I'm lucky to be here with you," Shane answered, and had to bite back a laugh as Revy actually blushed.

"Aww, shut up," Revy grumbled.

End, ROD Christmas


	15. Christmas: Three

Read or Dare!

Black Lagoon Christmas

Balalaika stood in her apartment, looking out over the Mariana Islands as she swirled some vodka in a glass. The snow coming down was pretty thin, not like the snows in Russia, but that had been a lifetime ago. Now she was here, half the world away, and building a life very different from anything she would have imagined.

"Things are quiet tonight," Balalaika turned, her nearly white blond hair gleaming, "you can go, Sargent."

Boris stiffened, the taller man frowning slightly, "But Captain..."

"It will be fine," she reassured her body guard, "take the squad leaders and celebrate. It's been a good year, and you've worked hard."

"Are you sure?" Boris asked.

"Go, go," Balalaika made shooing gestures, smiling in a way that was much more relaxed than she once would have.

Boris left, the mountainous guard faintly troubled. On one hand he was glad to see her happy, but hard experience had taught them to be on their guard. A enemy could strike at any time, and he did not want to see her hurt...

Balalaika took a drink, savoring the fine booze as it slid down her throat. Drinking was something she did rarely, mostly to be polite to guests or to disarm enemies, but she liked a good drink now and then. Especially now that her wars were possibly behind her.

It was a bit frightening to admit to herself, that Balalaika had come here to escape the wars that she had fought in all her life. From being a child sniper to Afghanistan, the hard exile, her rise as a crime lord and her rule of Roanapur... she had fought all her life. Now here, on a remote island, she seemed to have found peace.

For a warrior, it was a frightening prospect.

A soft knock on the door made Balalaika frown slightly, jarred from her thoughts. She went to the door of her penthouse suite and looked out the peephole, confirming who it was. "Come in," she smiled, opening the door.

Rockuro Okajima smiled back warmly as he entered, the slightly shorter black haired man dressed in one of her usual suits. He still looked a lot like the straight laced Japanese business man Rock had started out as, though underneath the suit was a different sort of man.

"Thanks for inviting me over," Rock nodded, passing her a brightly wrapped bottle. He was good at this sort of polite gesture, in some ways better than her.

"I've been inviting you over for months, Rock," Balalaika noted wryly, "you really need to stop making such a fuss."

"Once you start taking things for granted," Rock shrugged eloquently as she shrugged off her suit coat and left it hanging on a chair. AS he loosened his tie he looked slightly more rakish, but still quite dignified.

Balalaika laughed softly, shaking her head. "Drink?" she asked curiously.

"Just a bit," Rock smiled, "I don't have the same tolerance as you do."

The two settled on the couch, sitting side by side. In a rare gesture of weakness Balalaika let herself lean against him, and Rock put his arm over her shoulder. "My men would be horrified if they saw this," she murmured after a moment.

"I think most of them would be happy for you," Rock corrected gently. He hesitated a moment, "You mind if I bring up some business?"

Balalaika sighed, but still smiled faintly as she said, "If you must."

"Sorry," Rock shrugged, "but I finally heard back from Garcia. He's willing to both provide funding and wants to set up a scholarship for disadvantaged children."

Balalaika grinned, sitting up as she said, "He will? I had hoped, but..."

"He's not thrilled with you over your first run in," Rock said wryly, "but the deal we're offering him is pretty reasonable. He'd be a fool to disagree."

"And how is Fabiola?" Balalaika asked teasingly, smiling as Rock blushed.

"Still less than happy with me," Rock admitted.

Balalaika chuckled softly, but didn't tease him any more. She knew Rock was still a bit... uncomfortable with everything that happened the last time Roberta, Fabiola and the others had been in Roanapur. Rock had been hired by Garcia to help find Roberta, with eventually evolved into a attempt to save Roberta from herself, which was ultimately successful. But to do so Rock had manipulated all sides of the conflict, revealing a side of magnificent bastard-hood that no one realized he had.

'Well, except for Dutch,' Balalaika mused. He had told her about how Rock had come up with a plan to kill a Hind attack helicopter with a torpedo boat, and noted that once Rock got his feet under him, he'd be a 'badass motherfucker.'

"Lost in thought?" Rock asked after a moment.

"Just remembering how Dutch first described you to me," Balalaika teased.

"Do I want to know?" Rock asked, grinning shyly.

"Probably not," Balalaika noted. She shifted a bit to turn towards him as she asked, "And is business done for the night?"

"Pretty much," Rock agreed.

"Good," Balalaika pulled him forward gently, "then kiss me."

**0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0 **

At about three in the morning Janet Bhai left her boyfriend Benny collapsed on the bed, the blond haired man snoring softly. 'Men,' Jane shook her head wryly as she padded through the apartment he had on the island. She had been seeing Benny since meeting him and the Lagoon Company in Roanapur, and had grown quite fond of the man.

As Jane sat down at his complicated computer and began to crack his passwords she murmured, "But business is business."

It took Jane longer than expected to crack Benny's system, he was fiendish about security features. Jane was certain there was no way to hack the system from outside, and even with direct access to the machine it was hard work. Jane was faintly touched that he had 'Jane' as several of his passwords, but didn't let it bother her.

Retrieving a small device from her backpack Jane hooked it to the modem, then dialed out to her superiors. It took a few nervous minutes before the connection pinged back, then she triggered the full download of Benny's data.

'Just a few more minutes and it's all over,' Jane thought.

But just then the dim lights came on in full intensity, even as the modem connection cut out. Blinded for a moment Jane cried out in pain as she was yanked out of the chair and bodily slammed against the wall.

"What the fuck, Jane?" Revy snarled, the brown haired woman pinning her up against the wall, hard, while Benny stood behind her with a deeply wounded expression on his face.

"Can't a girl surf for porn in peace?" Jane quipped even as she felt terror flow through her body.

"Don't fuck with me," Revy said darkly, "do you think we're fucking stupid? We knew about your meet in Roanapur with that corporate shark, the only thing we didn't know was if you'd go through with it."

Jane shook her head ruefully. "And we made sure to meet in Washimine Group territory too," she noted with a sigh, "Balalaika is on friendly terms with her?"

"More like Rock and Yukio get along," Benny said flatly, his hands in the pockets of his hastily thrown on robe. "Jane...," he hesitated then sighed, "why?"

Jane looked away, unable to face his wounded puppy eyes. "The simplest reason in the world," she shrugged, "money. They were offering me a obscene amount of money for access to the island's systems and security layout."

"If you had money troubles why not come to us?" Benny demanded.

"It's not troubles, Benny," Jane said calmly even though Revy still had her pinned to the wall, "it's retirement money. I'm not getting any younger, and staying on the cutting edge is hard work. With this kind of score, I could quit."

"Who hired you?" Revy demanded, "And who was he working for?"

"He calls himself Mr Smith," Jane smirked, "I'm guessing it's a alias. Other than that I'm telling you nothing."

"Jane...," Benny started, unsure what to say.

"Sorry, lover," Jane actually looked a bit regretful, "you've been fun, but a girl's gotta eat."

"Benny, take that thing off your modem and take it to your lab," Revy ordered calmly, "we need to know where she was trying to send the data. I'll take care of things here."

Benny hesitated, "You sure, Revy?"

"I got this," Revy said as the man unhook the device then went to get dressed.

Jane listened as Benny dressed then left, then she looked at Revy calmly. "So is this where you kill me and dispose of the body?" she asked.

Revy ignored that, meeting her gaze intently. "There's no way you took the job without knowing who you worked for," Revy said flatly, "who's pulling the strings?"

"No way," Jane shook her head defiantly, "not telling. I have professional ethics you know."

Before Jane could even react Revy shifted her grip, grabbing her writing hand hard. She grabbed Jane's index finger and wrenched it back, making Jane yowl in pain. She continued the pressure, then with a wet sound the finger broke.

Jane was hiccuping brokenly, crying a little as she gasped, "You maniac! That's gonna take weeks to heal!"

"Assuming it heals right at all," Revy said flatly. Jane looked at her in alarm as Revy smiled coldly, "How well would you be able to hack with ten crooked fingers?"

Jane gulped then said the predictable, "You wouldn't."

Revy calmly grabbed another finger and pulled it back threateningly as she purred, "Do you really wanna bet?"

"Stop, stop!" Jane yelped. As Revy eased off the pressure she slumped slightly. "It was a big, American based multinational," she told Revy flatly, "SEARRS."

"SEARRS, huh?" Revy nodded, already planing to send Benny after data on them. "Thank you much for your help," she told Jane.

"What know?" Jane asked as Revy grabbed her by the collar.

"Guess," Revy snarled as she punched Jane in the face.

To be continued...

Notes: New material! Yay! Wanted to set up explicitly that Balalaika and Rock are a item. I also wanted to do a Revy chapter where she's tough and scary, since I've kind of 'softened' her in this fic. I'm basing this on the manga version of 'Greenback Jane' who is somewhat less nice than in the anime.


	16. Hangover

Read Or Dare

Sixteen

Nancy Mukahari moaned in pain as a hangover stabbed into her brain. She buried her face in her pillow to try to kill the light, but she knew that there was no escaping the morning. With a groan she rolled over onto her back, trying to remember what had happened last night.

They had exchanged Christmas greetings with Joker, then Nenene had showed up. She and Yomiko handled that, then she and Yomiko talked about that. They had drank a bit, then had cuddled on the couch while drinking eggnog with rum. Obviously Yomiko had done the mixing, as the drink had hit Nancy hard enough to knock her on her ass.

"Morning," Yomiko said cheerfully, trotting in while carrying a cup of orange juice and some Asprin tablets.

"Oh, thank you," Nancy sighed gratefully as she took the pills then washed them down with the orange juice.

"Are you all right?" Yomiko asked gently, sitting down beside her on the bed. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean for the rum and eggnog to be that strong..."

For a book lover Yomiko had a annoying tolerance for booze, since she mostly looked bright eyed and bushy tailed. "It's okay," Nancy said, shaking her head. She at up more fully, her odd purple-black hair standing on end.

"Do you want some toast?" Yomiko offered mildly, "I don't think either one of us are up to a full breakfast."

Nancy went a bit green at the idea of eating a full meal. "I think toast would be good," she decided, getting up. Nancy swayed a bit as a sudden burst of vertigo hit her, but she shook it off.

Yomiko offered a steadying hand, and the two headed into the kitchen. Nancy got the tea going, and Yomiko lightly toasted several pieces of bread. "Did you want jam?" she asked curiously.

"No, not today," Nancy said ruefully as they settled down at the table. She ate several pieces before finally noticing something. "Where's Shane?" she asked, their roommate noticeably absent.

"He phoned earlier," Yomiko looked amused, "apparently he's crashed on someone's couch. He says it reminds him of his old university days."

"Somehow I can't imagine him having a wild and crazy university life," Nancy noted thoughtfully, munching on toast. The man seemed far to stiff to be the type to crash in other people's couches and such.

"People have hidden depths," Yomiko shrugged as she ate her toast, "a professor I worked with on one of my substitute jobs was a former British SAS, a insurance investigator and a archeologist."

"Seriously?" Nancy blinked.

"Yes," Yomiko smiled, "Taichi Keaton."

"Huh," Nancy blinked, remembering the name from somewhere. She shook her head, deciding it wasn't important right now. "Do you have to go into work today?" she asked sipping some tea.

"Oh, no," Yomiko shook her head, "though I think Shane said he was going to check on his library."

"HIS library?" Nancy looked amused.

Yomiko shrugged eloquently and they both exchanged smiles.

**0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0**

The library was open, Shane noted, frowning slightly as he tried to get his hung over brain running. He felt like someone was trying to drill a mine in the top of his head, and the pain killers he had taken hadn't made a dent yet. He finally remembered that yes, some of the volunteers and check out girls had promised to open up today.

He ran a hand through his messy hair, realizing he was still in yesterday's clothes. And unshaven. Shane wanted to just go inside, but honestly he thought he might scare the kids. Turning away he walked from the library building, debating if he should go home or just try to find some place to clean up.

Shane was also wondering what happened to Revy. They had actually been having a good time at the dorm party, when Revy got a phone call. Whatever she heard was bad news, he was pretty sure, and she had excused herself and quickly fled. He hadn't been able to get away for various reasons, and Revy hadn't answered his calls.

"Gah," Shane groaned, ducking into one of the university buildings. He was pretty sure one of the professors might have a razor he could borrow or something. Sadly his optimism was misplaced, as apparently no professors were in and only a few grad students were working on last minute projects.

"Merry Christmas," the students working in the science lab waved as he went by.

"And right back at you," Shane nodded, recognizing Koyomi, Kelly and several members of the robotics club. He wandered in, looking at the robotic arm on the table as he asked, "Still improving your robot?"

"Fine tuning mostly," Koyomi admitted, "Kelly is plugging in the programs and we're seeing how well it works."

"I suppose I couldn't borrow something to shave with?" Shane asked hopefully.

Kelly Miles looked amused as the young woman noted, "I thought you looked a bit more rakish than usual, sir."

"Even old fogies get out occasionally," Shane shrugged.

"I think we can rig up something," Koyomi said, looking thoughtful.

Instead of building something from scratch the team remembered that one of the professors usually did shave in his office. Then of all people Dan demonstrated he knew how to pick a lock. Having liberated the razor they presented it to Shane, who felt just a tad hypocritical to criticize their methods. He did make a note to ask Dan how he learned to do that...

Cleaned up, shaved and after returning the stolen razor Shane felt somewhat more presentable. He was still in his one day old clothes, but he wasn't going to bring that up. Besides, his students might decide to break into someone's office and get him clothes too! He thanked them and headed out, once more into the cool late morning air.

Shane maintained a confident stride, and tried to project confidence as he went into the quiet library. If working for the British Library had taught him anything, the secret to getting by was to be entirely sure you belonged, even if you didn't. Like on his usual workday mornings Shane walked the book cases, moving between the stacks as he made sure everything was neat and in their place. Satisfied they were fine, he headed up to the front desk.

"Good morning sir," Nodoka smiled at him warmly, "I wasn't expecting you today."

"Meaning you saw me get falling down drunk last night," Shane noted with a grin.

Nodoka blushed charmingly, "No, no! I mean..."

Shane laughed, "It's fine, I figure I'm showing you kids what adults are really like." He leaned against the desk as he noted, "I'm actually a bit vague on everything that happened. You were there at the dorm party I trust?"

"Yes," Nodoka said, covering her mouth to hide a smile.

"Ah, I was embarrassing I see," Shane shook his head, "what did I do? Lampshade on the head? Bad singing? Random hugs?"

"Singing," Nodoka actually laughed quietly then added reassuringly, "but you weren't that bad. No one ran out of the room at least."

"Well, thank goodness for that," Shane shook his head, smiling.

"You actually have a very good singing voice," another girl noted, smiling faintly. Yue looked amused, "Did you really have to come into work today?"

"Probably not," Shane conceded, sighing. He looked at Nodoka, "Are you and the others going to be okay closing up?"

"I don't see any problems," Nodoka promised, smiling. "And if something comes up, I'll call."

"Fair enough," Shane agreed, then said his goodbyes. Heading outside he took a deep breath, then against all common sense decided to try to find out where Revy had disappeared to.

It didn't take that long to find her, honestly. First he phoned up Rock, and mentioned how Revy hurried off last night. Mentioning that he was worried about her did the trick, and Rock revealed that Revy had gotten some bad news about a friend. He didn't know exactly where she was but Rock suspected she was drowning her sorrows.

There were a couple of decent pubs on the campus itself, intended for the university students pretty much. Shane checked those out first, then went out into the city itself to see the real bars. He found Revy in the seedier of the two bars, the sort of place you went in for serious drinking rather than to have a party.

Surprisingly Shane recognized the woman sitting by Revy, the two of them apparently matching each other drink for drink. "Hey Shane!| Rin Asogi waved breezily, getting glares from the serious drinkers up by the bar.

Shane walked over to the back table, nodding a greeting as he took off his coat. Revy had red cheeks but her eyes seemed clear, indicating she wasn't too drunk yet. "You all right?" he asked as he sat down.

"I'm just fine," Revy said as she poured a glass of rum and pushed it towards him.

Rin's long black hair shimmered as she shook her head, "Don't believe her, Shaney." She burst into giggles, "Shaney! I like that!"

Shane rolled his eyes, praying to god that it doesn't become his nickname. He sipped from his rum, then put it down. "I think I had too much to drink last night," he admitted.

"Oh?" Revy looked curious.

Seizing the moment to try to cheer her up I weave a slightly exaggerated version of what I recall of the night after Revy left. I added in a few bits including wearing a lampshade, and I managed to get a somewhat more natural smile on Revy's face. As I finished up, Rin stretched and yawned.

"I gotta get going," Rin admitted, "Mimi's probably wondering where I am. Take good care of Revy Shaney." She staggered off, giggling, "Shaney! Hah!"

"I hope like hell she forgets about calling me that," Shane sighed.

Revy snickered softly, then looked down into her nearly empty glass. "You ever think you've known someone for years, only to have them betray you?" she asked sadly.

"Once or twice," Shane admitted, "it sucks."

"Yeah, it does," Revy finished her drink with a sigh. "And you can never get back the trust you once had..."

"No," Shane agreed. He watched her sadly, figuring that last night's call had been security related. And from the look on her face and what she said, it wasn't good. "I'm sorry," he said, putting his hand over hers.

"Thanks," Revy sighed, squeezing his fingers firmly.

To be continued...

Note: Taichi Hiraga Keaton is in fact the main character of Master Keaton, a japanese manga and anime. Sadly only the anime has been translated into English, and it's out of print. Still, if you can find it the series is quite a treat.


	17. Chapter 17

Read or Dare

Seventeen

Balalaika felt a pang of regret as the white blond watched the younger woman being hustled on the boat. One upon a time she would have had Greenback Jane killed for what she had done, attempting to hack into the island and pass data to a enemy. Now? They were letting her off with a warning, though admittedly a quite severe warning.

"I still think breaking both her hands was a bit much," Rock noted, the black haired younger man dressed in a white shirt, tie and black pants.

"We should have killed her," Balalaika said dryly as the woman with white plaster casts on both her hands stumbled out of their sight, glaring at them furiously. While Balalaika had not broken her hands personally Jane KNEW she had ordered it.

"Balalaika...," Rock started.

She held up a hand, stopping him. "I know that she was a friend, and I know Benny was in love with her," Balalaika said frankly, "but what she did was not just endangering us. I could forgive that. What she did was attempt to put all those we are responsible for in danger."

"Huh," Rock nodded, acknowledging the point.

"Besides, I dislike leaving live enemies behind me," Balalaika added reflectively, "then tend to come back at distressing times."

Rock sighed at that. Balalaika, at times, could be distressingly practical about such things. He suspected it came from her Russian heritage. And it was distressing, mostly, because too often Balalaika was right about this sort of thing.

"Do you think she'll cause Dutch any trouble?" Balalaika asked as the Lagoon pulled away from the dock and headed out to sea.

"She's not that dumb," Rock said as they walked away from the dock. "SEARRS is after her for divulging they hired her, so she needs Dutch to get her back to Roanapur safely. No way she'd be dumb enough to screw with him."

"True," Balalaika said as they reached her silver coloured Bentley. She opened the car door as she added, "I noticed Benny wasn't aboard. With Dutch be all right without him?"

"He got a local expert to fill in," Rock noted as he got in with her, "considering the circumstances I don't blame Benny sitting this one out."

"True enough," Balalaika nodded. She had also provided two troopers as guards, as Revy was also staying in town, though for different reasons. Revy was less concerned with Jane as finding out what SEARRS might have wanted the data for.

"Captain," Boris said from the front seat, "shall I take you back to town, or...?"

"Back to the school," Balalaika ordered and they were off.

She was a busy woman, and annoyingly little of it had to do with running the school itself. The previous governor of the islands had run the place into the ground, and much of Balalaika's efforts were devoted to rebuilding it. As well, there were growing indications that there were dangerous secrets under this island.

"Did you read the latest report from the soldiers I have exploring the tunnels?" Balalaika asked Rock curiously.

"They found another biology lab," Rock nodded, frowning. "And Captain Hicks did not sound happy about their progress."

"The island appears riddled with a tunnel network, much of it man made," Balalaika agreed. "We've mapped a section of it, but it's a maze. It could be weeks before we have a section completely mapped out."

"And the technology we're finding down there is DAMN odd," Rock made a face.

The biology labs were disturbing, Rock had found. Massive tubes and conduits, old brass and thick crystal, and tools that looked over a hundred years old at least. And preserved in a odd... slime were life forms, experiments of various types. Animals, mostly, but a few men too. And it you disturbed them, somehow some of the creatures would begin to move, despite being long dead!

There had also been mechanical labs, with strange and exotic machines of mostly unknown purpose. They didn't want to try starting anything up, not being sure what they DID, but they were incredibly complex for something so old. There were steam powered engines, a small train and other items, all waiting to be studied.

"Indeed," Balalaika agreed, "we're looking for a expert in exotic technology to study what's under there, but we must be descrete."

"Do you think we should bring in a professional to investigate the tunnels?" Rock asked, even as he wondered where she was looking for a expert in lost steampunk technology.

"I think Captain Hicks can manage, though I am considering bringing in a professional archeologist," Balalaika conceded, "a old friend, so to speak."

"Hmm," Rock nodded as they drove through town. Hesitantly he asked, "Do you think that Librarian knew how extensive the tunnels would turn out to be?"

"That is a very good question," Balalaika admitted.

They had first found out about the tunnels under the island when Revy, following the oddly dressed Shane Llewellyn, had discovered clearly man made passages. Worse, she had encountered what she colorfully described as 'a fucking demon dog' and killed it, with a bit of help.

After a bit of thought Balalaika admitted, "You know, I don't think so. Revy noted that he seemed as startled as her about what they found."

"Well, let's hope he stays out of trouble," Rock sighed as they reached the school's main offices, "we have enough problems."

**0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0**

"How the HELL did I get talked into this?" Shane complained bitterly as he was lowered by a rope into a dark hole.

Amusingly, this was not because of any of his planned explorations. No, this was a student project, and he had been caught up in it. The robe gradually lowered him into the large chamber, even as the sound of dirt shifting echoed worryingly.

"You okay, sir?" Dan Wisner asked as the younger man helped belay the rope along with a engineering team.

"I'm just dandy," Shane answered dryly.

A group of students had been running tests on a walking machine, a big, bulky mecha designed to copy human movement which were working on for the science fair in a few weeks. Sadly, the field they were running the mobility tests on had turned out to have a fundamental weakness, being the 'roof' for a underground cavern.

Now, in theory they should have ran to school authorities, rather than asking Shane. However, they hadn't actually got permissions to test their mecha out in the fields, and there was some concern they might get in trouble. So instead they went and got a teacher they HOPED would not rat them out.

Koyomi Kishiro knelt by the hole their mecha had opened up in the turf, even as Dan and the other club members slowly lowered the teacher. "Can you see the machine?" she called.

"I'm about half way down," Shane answered, "and it's pretty dim. Not yet."

"Ease him down slowly," Koyomi instructed the others.

Shane dropped down pretty smoothly, the brown haired man's overcoat flapping around him. The chamber was large, at least twenty or so feet high he guessed, and the light from the hole shafted downward at a angle, only illuminating part of it. About half way down he saw the edges of the mech, which looked like it had taken damage from the fall.

"I see it," he called as he dropped a bit more, "looks like it took some damage in the fall."

Kelly Miles cursed softly, the programmer standing up near the hole. She had helped the group design the software, and it would be very frustrating to see that work wasted.

"Let go of the rope, I think I can drop the last bit," Shane called.

Adam, one of the stronger guys, kept a grip on the rope while letting it quickly play out. They heard a thump, then he called, "You okay?"

"I'm down," Shane called back.

The machine, which was about seven feet tall and heavy looking, had apparently crashed through the roof, hit the floor then rolled a bit. It was sitting off to the side, sideways, and was pretty badly banged up.

As Shane called up with details on the busted mech he also took the opportunity to check out the chamber itself. Like the caves he had explored a few weeks ago it appeared man made, with smooth walls. The floor was also quite even, at least where the robot hadn't dinged it. There were also at least three passages branching out of the room.

'Damn it,' Shane thought ruefully, 'how big IS this tunnel network anyway?'

"Coming down!" a voice yelled and Shane barely had enough time to move aside before Koyomi slid down the rope. She hit the ground with a thump and looked around, blinking as she asked, "What the hell...?"

"Looks like your robot fell into this underground chamber," Shane stated the obvious, trying not to look like he knew what they were dealing with.

"Wow, this is clearly man made," Koyomi looked around, "and there are other tunnels! We should get the club down here, go exploring..."

"No, bad idea," Shane said quickly. As Koyomi looked at him curiously he added quickly, "WE have no lights, and we'd need cave diving gear, maybe. And what if there's a cave in?"

Koyomi looked like she wanted to protest, then sighed. "You're right, of course." She looked at the robot next, circling it as she mused, "Now, how the heck do we get it out of here?"

"I hate to say it but I think we're gonna have to call in the authorities," Shane noted. "AT least, if you know someone with a crane... and can judge where it would be safe to park it considering the unstable ground?"

Koyomi digested that a moment and sighed. "We are in SO much shit..."

It did indeed take a crane and nearly half a day to get the mecha out of the cavern. And about the same time the Island Security forces were all over them, swearing everyone to secrecy about the hole, cavern and tunnels.

Revy ended up down the hole as her squads of troops began to move deeper into the tunnels. "Why the heck do I keep running into you in places like this?" she asked Shane dryly.

"Just lucky I guess?" Shane shrugged slightly. "Besides, I got asked by my students to help. It's not like I could just ignore it..."

Revy gave him a look, "You're the librarian. You could have just gotten a staff member..."

Shane shrugged. "Any sign of those things we ran into before?" he asked, changing the subject.

"No," Revy answered flatly, "and I hope we don't see them again."

"Seconded," Shane agreed.

To be continued...


End file.
